The metaverse and its impact on human rights, the rule of law and democracy
The metaverse and its impact on human rights, the rule of law and democracy

Author: Council of Europe

Publisher: Council of Europe

Published: 2024-05-01

Total Pages: 130

ISBN-13: 9287194661

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How can rights and freedoms be guaranteed in the metaverse, whilst the frontiers between the physical and virtual worlds are becoming increasingly blurred? This collaborative report by the Council of Europe and the IEEE Standards Association navigates the complexities of technology and human rights, emphasising the importance of a human-centric approach to immersive realities development, such as the metaverse. The report highlights key issues and risks while exploring the potential benefits of the metaverse. Grounded in ethical considerations, it underscores the necessity of upholding the principles of human rights, the rule of law and democracy. Authored by a consortium of over 50 IEEE experts and peer reviewed by the Council of Europe relevant sectors, the report provides essential perspectives on technical, ethical and governance dimensions. As the metaverse evolves, so too will the guidance offered within, ensuring policy makers remain informed and adaptable in this dynamic landscape.

Young People, Social Inclusion and Digitalisation
Young People, Social Inclusion and Digitalisation

Author: Council of Europe

Publisher:

Published: 2021-03-31

Total Pages: 256

ISBN-13: 9789287186508

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Can the digital revolution help us to tackle existing inequalities, or does it leave some young people even further behind? Is the digital world equally accessible to all young people? What are some of the inherent inequalities within the digital sphere? Do digital tools enable youth organisations, youth workers or state bodies to "reach out" to marginalised young people?Digital methods, tools and platforms, and their unexplored potential in the youth sector, have created much enthusiasm within the youth field. This Youth Knowledge publication explores the intersection between digitalisation and social inclusion of young people, reflecting especially on how digitalisation affects young people's lives, and what the role of youth policy, youth work and youth research can be in this respect.In these 16 chapters, the authors critically examine if and how digitalisation can support the quest for social inclusion, ranging from the exploration of policies, tools and platforms available to young people and youth workers in Europe, supporting young people's access to education and employment opportunities, opening up avenues for digital youth work, providing opportunities for participation for young people with disabilities, channels of integration for migrant communities and young refugees across Europe and support networks for young LGBTI persons.While there is an acknowledgement of the potential for the youth sector to use the possibilities of digitalisation to address social inequality, the authors also emphasise that this does not happen automatically, and more reflection is needed regarding the accessibility of technology and how our digital approaches can be made inclusive for young people from all backgrounds

Rule of Law in Crisis
Rule of Law in Crisis

Author: Martin Belov

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2022-12-30

Total Pages: 323

ISBN-13: 1000830381

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This book addresses the current crisis that threatens the rule of law and has led to the need for its adjustment as normative concept, legal principle and pragmatic guideline for the behaviour of political players. Rule of law is a pillar of the constitutional orders and a key principle of national, international and EU law. Yet, rule of law is subject to pressure for change in the face of emergency, crisis and transition. This book explores how constitutional crisis, emergency constitutionalism and constitutional polycrisis assert pressures for the transformation of rule of law and thus produce a state of flux. It examines the rule of law from the viewpoint of constitutional imaginaries, memory politics and identity politics. It critically assesses the responses given by the EU and its member states to the current crisis. The work also provides an analysis of the most important challenges to rule of law stemming from the performance of constitutional courts, including the risks of judicial activism, politicization of the courts and judicialization of politics. The book will be an invaluable resource for researchers, academics and policy-makers working in the areas of Constitutional Law and Political Science.

African Democracy
African Democracy

Author: Jonathan O. Chimakonam

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2023-09-21

Total Pages: 377

ISBN-13: 1350299243

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There are numerous different democratic systems in Africa, from the Igbo institutions that date back to the 15th century to Western-style democracy introduced by colonial powers. But what does democracy really mean for African nations? And what effect does it have on the lives of their people? This is the first comprehensive examination of the social and political consequences of democracy in Africa. Written from an African philosophical perspective, leading and emerging scholars explore the impact of democracy in a continent dealing not only with the perennial issues of leadership failure, poverty and corruption but also with contemporary global concerns such as immigration, digital media and COVID-19. With a focus first and foremost on the African people, this pioneering volume investigates how the challenges of democracy as a system affect their lived experience. Looking in particular at the sub-Sahara, it reveals the influence that the failures of democracy have on fundamental needs, including allocation of primary resources, autonomy, welfare, free speech and women's rights. African Democracy: Impediments, Promises, and Prospects gives an unflinching insight into the struggles caused by democratic governance in Africa, whilst also, crucially, pointing to its accomplishments and the future possibilities for African nations.

Smart Technologies and the End(s) of Law
Smart Technologies and the End(s) of Law

Author: Mireille Hildebrandt

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

Published: 2015-02-27

Total Pages: 295

ISBN-13: 1849808775

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This timely book tells the story of the smart technologies that reconstruct our world, by provoking their most salient functionality: the prediction and preemption of our day-to-day activities, preferences, health and credit risks, criminal intent and

Digital Technologies and Public Procurement
Digital Technologies and Public Procurement

Author: Albert Sanchez-Graells

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2024-01-10

Total Pages: 488

ISBN-13: 019263660X

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The digital transformation of the public sector has accelerated. States are experimenting with technology, seeking more streamlined and efficient digital government and public services. However, there are significant concerns about the risks and harms to individual and collective rights under new modes of digital public governance. Several jurisdictions are attempting to regulate digital technologies, especially artificial intelligence, however regulatory effort primarily concentrates on technology use by companies, not by governments. The regulatory gap underpinning public sector digitalisation is growing. As it controls the acquisition of digital technologies, public procurement has emerged as a 'regulatory fix' to govern public sector digitalisation. It seeks to ensure through its contracts that public sector digitalisation is trustworthy, ethical, responsible, transparent, fair, and (cyber) safe. However, in Digital Technologies and Public Procurement: Gatekeeping and Experimentation in Digital Public Governance, Albert Sanchez-Graells argues that procurement cannot perform this gatekeeping role effectively. Through a detailed case study of procurement digitalisation as a site of unregulated technological experimentation, he demonstrates that relying on 'regulation by contract' creates a false sense of security in governing the transition towards digital public governance. This leaves the public sector exposed to the 'policy irresistibility' that surrounds hyped digital technologies. Bringing together insights from political economy, public policy, science, technology, and legal scholarship, this thought-provoking book proposes an alternative regulatory approach and contributes to broader debates of digital constitutionalism and digital technology regulation.

Identity
Identity

Author: Francis Fukuyama

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Published: 2018-09-11

Total Pages: 203

ISBN-13: 0374717486

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The New York Times bestselling author of The Origins of Political Order offers a provocative examination of modern identity politics: its origins, its effects, and what it means for domestic and international affairs of state In 2014, Francis Fukuyama wrote that American institutions were in decay, as the state was progressively captured by powerful interest groups. Two years later, his predictions were borne out by the rise to power of a series of political outsiders whose economic nationalism and authoritarian tendencies threatened to destabilize the entire international order. These populist nationalists seek direct charismatic connection to “the people,” who are usually defined in narrow identity terms that offer an irresistible call to an in-group and exclude large parts of the population as a whole. Demand for recognition of one’s identity is a master concept that unifies much of what is going on in world politics today. The universal recognition on which liberal democracy is based has been increasingly challenged by narrower forms of recognition based on nation, religion, sect, race, ethnicity, or gender, which have resulted in anti-immigrant populism, the upsurge of politicized Islam, the fractious “identity liberalism” of college campuses, and the emergence of white nationalism. Populist nationalism, said to be rooted in economic motivation, actually springs from the demand for recognition and therefore cannot simply be satisfied by economic means. The demand for identity cannot be transcended; we must begin to shape identity in a way that supports rather than undermines democracy. Identity is an urgent and necessary book—a sharp warning that unless we forge a universal understanding of human dignity, we will doom ourselves to continuing conflict.

Unboxing Artificial Intelligence: 10 steps to protect human rights
Unboxing Artificial Intelligence: 10 steps to protect human rights

Author: Council of Europe

Publisher: Council of Europe

Published: 2019-08-09

Total Pages: 29

ISBN-13:

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Artificial intelligence (AI) involves opportunities as well as risks; human rights should be strengthened by AI, not undermined. This Recommendation on AI and human rights provides guidance on the way in which the negative impact of AI systems on human rights can be prevented or mitigated, focusing on 10 key areas of action.