Human Life is Threatened

Technological advances have benefited humans. However, threats to human life always arise.

AFP/MOHAMMED ABED

A food stall worker prepares bread near Rafah, Gaza, on April 23, 2024. Tens of thousands of Palestinian residents died due to Israel's attack on Gaza.

Amnesty International, an institution headquartered in London and focused on human rights (HAM) campaigns, submitted its latest report on the condition of global human rights on Wednesday (24/4/2024). The world situation in the last year is considered bad for upholding human rights. There is the war in Gaza, the armed conflict in Ukraine, climate change, as well as artificial intelligence technology that degrades human dignity.

Amnesty International's report stated that tens of thousands of Palestinian citizens died in Gaza after Israel attacked the area. On the other hand, thousands of Israeli people also lost their lives. At the same time, thousands of people died in armed conflicts in Ukraine. The inhumane treatment of prisoners of war, as mentioned in Amnesty International's report, makes the world appear not to have improved since World War II. (Kompas.id, 24 April 2024)

AFP/LLUIS GENE

A kayak is located on dry land near the low water level of the Sau reservoir, with the Sant Roma de Sau Church in the background, in the province of Girona, Catalonia, Spain, on January 15, 2024.

Also read: Amnesty International: World Order on the Verge of Collapse

Not only conflicts, but climate change is also mentioned as a factor causing the degradation of human dignity. The reason is that climate change and environmental support decline make it increasingly difficult for most people to meet their basic needs. For example, many farmers suffer huge losses due to unpredictable weather or extreme weather conditions such as heavy rainfall or very high temperatures.

Climate change is recognized to affect all countries, but it disproportionately impacts low-income countries. Governments and corporations have failed to address it. Countries, particularly those that have long been carbon emitters, have made little effort to stop the use of fossil fuels. (Amnesty International, The State of the World's Human Rights, April 2024).

AFP/LIONEL BONAVENTURE

The Midjourney logo appears on a screen, in Toulouse, France, April 26, 2023. Midjourney is an artificial intelligence application for generating images.

Also read: Artificial Intelligence, Friend or Foe?

Important to note, Amnesty International focuses on technological progress. Artificial intelligence, particularly after the emergence of generative artificial intelligence, is seen as degrading humans. Human privacy is violated. Big technology corporations are so powerful that human rights are no longer respected. Surveillance happens arbitrarily. Artificial intelligence is also reported to be responsible for thousands of people from disadvantaged groups losing their rights to social protection from the government in a European country.

In other words, the challenge for upholding human dignity is becoming greater. Artificial intelligence and climate change add to the long list of threats to human dignity, following traditional threats such as armed conflicts.

It is not easy for countries around the world to overcome this issue, as they are also competing and vying for dominance among each other. Therefore, civil society in all countries must unite, advocate, and continue to pressure policymakers to take the threats to human rights enforcement more seriously.