Technology and Human Rights

The Human Rights Initiative considers both the promise and threat that technology poses for human rights and how it impacts civil society

Research examines how governments can deploy technology to serve national security and foreign policy interests in a more rights-respecting manner, and the responsibility of technology companies to carry out adequate due diligence on customers and users of their products.

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Photo: Hannibal Hanschke/Getty Images

Photo: Hannibal Hanschke/Getty Images

Ukrainian Refugees: Forced Displacement Response Goes Fully Digital

Digital tools are being used at historic levels for refugee assistance and protection services to Ukrainian refugees. What are the benefits and risks of deploying digital technologies at each stage of a refugee’s journey?

Report by Lauren Burke , Catherine Nzuki , Erol Yayboke , and Anastasia Strouboulis — June 23, 2022

Photo: Adobestock

Facing the Risk

Report by Amy K. Lehr and William Crumpler — July 27, 2021

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Ukrainian Refugees: Forced Displacement Response Goes Fully Digital

Digital tools are being used at historic levels for refugee assistance and protection services to Ukrainian refugees. What are the benefits and risks of deploying digital technologies at each stage of a refugee’s journey?

Report by Lauren Burke , Catherine Nzuki , Erol Yayboke , and Anastasia Strouboulis — June 23, 2022

Photo: Hannibal Hanschke/Getty Images

Blockchain Technology: Human Rights Risks & Opportunities

Please join the CSIS Human Rights Initiative and Strategic Technologies Program on Wednesday, December 15 from 12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. EST for the launch of a new report: The Human Rights Risks and Opportunities in Blockchain.

Event by ​Marti Flacks , James Andrew Lewis , William Crumpler , Giulio Coppi , Mariam Turashvili , Trent Larson , and Isabel Ebert — December 15, 2021

Photo: MICHELE CATTANI/AFP/Getty Images

The Human Rights Risks and Opportunities in Blockchain

This report considers the opportunities, risks, and challenges associated with the adoption of blockchain solutions in four use cases to understand the human rights impact of blockchain on supply chain transparency, voting, digital identity, and land rights management.

Report by William Crumpler — December 14, 2021

PHOTO: YOUR123/ADOBE STOCK

Facing the Risk

This report examines current trends in facial recognition development and deployment around the world to understand how the technology is being produced and used, and what can be done to ensure deployments respect fundamental human rights and freedoms.

Report by Amy K. Lehr and William Crumpler — July 27, 2021

Photo: Adobestock

China's New Era in Techno-Governance

Please join the CSIS Freeman Chair in China Studies and the CSIS Human Rights Initiative for a discussion of how technology is changing the way the CCP governs China.

Event by Jude Blanchette , Amy K. Lehr , Josh Chin , Kate O'Keeffe , and Christina Larson — November 6, 2019

Humanity, Wired

A Human Rights-based Approach to A.I.

​Initiatives and partnerships to promote “ethical A.I.” are proliferating within the A.I. community. Host Amy Lehr discusses the human rights impact of A.I. and what governments and companies can do to make human rights integral in the design and use of A.I. with guests David Kaye and Vivek Krishnamurthy.

Podcast Episode by Amy K. Lehr — July 25, 2019

Podcast Humanity, Wired