Modernising Safeguards and Ensuring the Responsible Use of AI by Governments

As governments across the Global South increasingly turn to artificial intelligence and automation to improve public services, strengthen governance, and support economic development, critical questions remain about how these technologies affect rights, security, accountability, and democratic institutions. The decisions made today about the design, deployment, and governance of AI systems will shape innovation pathways, state power, and citizen freedoms for years to come.

This project supports research and policy engagement on the opportunities, risks, and governance implications of AI and automation, with a particular focus on how emerging technologies are being used within public institutions and their broader societal impacts. Through interdisciplinary research, the project examines four interconnected areas: the militarization of technology, the shrinking of civic space, the use of AI in authoritarian contexts, and the growing concentration of data within state institutions. It explores how automated systems are experienced by citizens and communities, who benefits from these technologies, who may be excluded or harmed, and what safeguards are needed to protect public interests.

The research also investigates the role of private technology companies in advancing AI-enabled surveillance and automation, the data infrastructures that underpin military, intelligence, and state surveillance systems, and the legal and regulatory frameworks intended to govern these developments. By analyzing both technological systems and the political and economic forces shaping them, the project seeks to generate evidence that can inform more transparent, accountable, and rights-respecting approaches to AI governance.

Ultimately, the project aims to strengthen public understanding of the implications of AI and automation, support greater transparency and accountability among institutions deploying these technologies, and contribute to the development of rights-based narratives that can shape policy debates and governance decisions. Through research, advocacy, and engagement with policymakers, civil society, and affected communities, the initiative seeks to ensure that the adoption of AI serves the public good while safeguarding human rights, democratic values, and civic freedoms.