Nations around the world are living in a digital dystopia of prosperity, using AIandother technologies to target, monitor and punish the poorest people, said Philip Alston, the UN rapporteur on extreme poverty.
Alston has researched how new digital technologies are revolutionizing the interaction between governments and the most vulnerable in society. In what he calls the rise of the “digital welfare state,” billions of dollars of public money are being invested in automated systemsthat are fundamentally changing the nature of social protection.
Alston's report on human rights changes, to be presented to the UN General Assembly on Friday, says AI has the potential to dramatically improve the lives of minorities, but warns that this hope is being lost in the constant drive to reduce costs.
Big tech are rampant around human rights, welfare budgets are being decimated and new penalties are being imposed for non-compliance by people who may be digitally illiterate or not have access to the internet. In the UK, 12 million people, or one in five residents, lack the essential digital skills required for modern everyday life.
The UN rapporteur has previously criticized inequalities in basic human rights. Last June, he sparked protests by denouncing the Trumpover tax cuts. He also argues that the state of governments accountable to their citizens has been overturned by the introduction of automated decision-making and the removal of human discretion from social welfare systems. Thus, citizens are becoming increasingly visible to governments, without the other way around.
The UN report emerged from Alston's visits to the UK, the US and 34 other countries. Instead of causing misery for millions of people, digital technology could be used as a force for good. He stressed that it could ensure a higher standard of living for the vulnerable and minorities, and design new ways of caring for those left on the margins.
Finally, the UN rapporteur concludes by saying that it is not too late for us all to avoid the obsession with fraud and the "undeserving" poor.
