AI and Human Rights in Conflict and Transition
Course Overview
This 10-week seminar series aims to equip participants with the critical knowledge and analytical frameworks needed to engage with the human rights implications of artificial intelligence (AI) in conflict-affected and transitional contexts, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa. The seminar will combine theoretical foundations with practical case studies, encouraging participants to critically analyse the intersection of technology, power, and justice.
Seminar Leaders
Dr. Razan Ali
Research Fellow
Columbia Global Center
Razan Ali is a Sudanese advocate and legal scholar with extensive expertise in various aspects of international law, specifically in International Human Rights Law and International Business Law. She holds two Master’s of Laws (LLMs) degrees: one in International and European Business Law from Trinity College Dublin, and the other in Human Rights and Democratisation from the Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria. She is currently pursuing a Doctor of Law degree (LLD), engaging in multidisciplinary research at the intersection of business and human rights, international humanitarian law, and international criminal law.
Tito Magoti, LLM
Fellow
African Judges and Jurists Forum (AJJF)
Tito Elia Magoti is a Tanzanian human rights lawyer, researcher, and advocate specializing in the rule of law, criminal justice reform, democratic governance, and international human rights law. He holds LL.M. degrees from the University of Pretoria and the University of York and is currently a Fellow with the African Judges and Jurists Forum and the International Commission of Jurists, where he researches judicial independence, rule of law, and democratic governance across East and Southern Africa.
Syllabus and Readings
Course Schedule
FRIDAY, OCT 2
Week 1: Introduction to AI and Human Rights
Hosted on Zoom
Readings/Resources:
Bakeer, Hani, et al. “AI and Human Rights.” (2024).
AI and Human Rights 101 (Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights)
The practical application of the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights to the activities of technology companies – Report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Human Rights Council report on human rights and technical standard-setting processes for new and emerging digital technologies (Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights 2023)
Rights by design: Embedding human rights principles in AI systems (Digital Cooperation Organisation 2025).
– Activities: Group discussion on participants’ prior knowledge/experiences with AI.
FRIDAY, OCT 9
Week 2: AI and Censorship
Hosted on Zoom
Readings/Resources:
Matusevych, Tetiana, Margarida Romero, and Oksana Strutynska. “Citizenship, censorship, and democracy in the age of artificial intelligence.” Creative applications of artificial intelligence in education. Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland, 2024. 57-71.
Diskin, Evgeni I. “The use of Artificial Intelligence technologies by internet platforms for the purposes of censorship.” RUDN Journal of Law 28.3 (2024): 584-603.
Riccio, Piera, et al. “Algorithmic Censorship of Art: A Proposed Research Agenda.” ICCC. 2022.
Activities: Breakout groups analyze different social media platforms and related censorship issues.
FRIDAY, OCT 16
Week 3: Surveillance and Privacy
Hosted on Zoom
Readings/Resources:
Mosa, Msbah J., et al. “AI and ethics in surveillance: balancing security and privacy in a digital world.” (2024).
Singh, Tulika. “AI-driven surveillance technologies and human rights: Balancing security and privacy.” International conference on smart systems: Innovations in computing. Singapore: Springer Nature Singapore, 2023.
Saheb, Tahereh. “Ethically contentious aspects of artificial intelligence surveillance: a social science perspective.” AI and Ethics 3.2 (2023): 369-379.
Activities: Case study analysis on AI, surveillance and privacy, focusing on a specific country or region and a specific AI tool used for surveillance.
FRIDAY, OCT 23
Week 4: Disinformation in Electoral Processes
Hosted on Zoom
Readings/Resources:
Yu, Chen. “How Will AI Steal Our Elections?.” Center for Open Science (2024).
López-López, Paulo Carlos, Daniel Barredo-Ibáñez, and Erika Jaráiz-Gulías. “Research on digital political communication: Electoral campaigns, disinformation, and artificial intelligence.” Societies 13.5 (2023): 126.
Díaz, Félix, et al. “Artificial Intelligence for Detecting Electoral Disinformation on Social Media: Models, Datasets, and Evaluation.” Information 17.3 (2026): 292.
Activities: Group debate on ethical challenges in electoral tech.
FRIDAY, OCT 30
Week 5: The Impact of AI on Vulnerable Groups
Hosted on Zoom
Readings/Resources:
Rodrigues, Rowena. “Legal and human rights issues of AI: Gaps, challenges and vulnerabilities.” Journal of Responsible Technology 4 (2020).
Raso, Filippo A., et al. “Artificial intelligence & human rights: Opportunities & risks.” Berkman Klein Center Research Publication 2018-6 (2018).
Activities: Participant presentations on specific affected groups.
FRIDAY, NOV 6
Week 6: AI in Armed Conflict
Hosted on Zoom
Readings/Resources:
Kraska, James. “Command accountability for AI weapon systems in the law of armed conflict.” International Law Studies 97.1 (2021): 22.
Siregar, Naek, et al. “The use of artificial intelligence in armed conflict under international law.” Hasanuddin Law Review 10.2 (2025): 189-205.
Lewis, Dustin. “International legal regulation of the employment of artificial-intelligence-related technologies in armed conflict.” (2020).
Activities: Case study of a conflict using AI technologies.
FRIDAY, NOV 13
Week 7: Transitional Justice and AI
Hosted on Zoom
Readings/Resources:
Teo, Sue Anne. “Artificial Intelligence and Transitional Justice: Framing the Connections.” (2025).
Pham, Phuong N., and Jay D. Aronson. “Technology and transitional justice.” International Journal of Transitional Justice 13.1 (2019): 1-6.
Smart, Sebastian. “Corporate power, conflict and transitional justice: Addressing business human rights abuses in the digital era.” Business and Human Rights Journal 10.2-3 (2025): 318-334.
Activities: Workshop on designing a hypothetical AI-assisted transitional justice mechanism.
FRIDAY, NOV 20
Week 8: AI Governance at the Regional and Global Levels
Hosted on Zoom
Readings/Resources:
Roberts, Huw, et al. “Global AI governance: barriers and pathways forward.” International Affairs 100.3 (2024): 1275-1286.
Cole, Mark D. “International∙ AI Regulation and Governance on a Global Scale: An Overview of International, Regional and National Instruments.” Journal of AI Law and Regulation 1.1 (2024).
Activities: Group analysis of different governance models.
FRIDAY, NOV 27
Week 9: Critical AI Studies
Hosted on Zoom
Readings/Resources:
Raley, Rita, and Jennifer Rhee. “Critical AI: A field in formation.” American Literature 95.2 (2023): 185-204.
Lindgren, Simon. “Introducing critical studies of artificial intelligence.” Handbook of critical studies of artificial intelligence. Edward Elgar Publishing, 2023. 1-19.
Verdegem, Pieter. “Critical AI studies meets critical political economy.” Handbook of critical studies of artificial intelligence. Edward Elgar Publishing, 2023. 302-311.
Activities: Critical essay writing on chosen case studies.
FRIDAY, DEC 4
Week 10: Building a Rights-Literate Public
Hosted on Zoom
Readings/Resources:
Tirtiroglu, Dogan, and Aysegul Ozbakir Acimert. “Ideology, science and the New Urban Design: toward a rights-literate praxis.” Journal of Urban Design 30.6 (2025): 760-767.
Omotoso, Sam. “Closing the Digital Divide: Strategies for Building Human Rights Literacy Through Mobile Technology in the Global South.”
Expert Comment: Is it time to reconsider our human rights in the age of AI? (Oxford 2025).
Activities: Final presentations and discussions on meaningful involvement in AI policy.
Certificates of Satisfactory Completion
Participants who attend 8 out of 10 complete seminar sessions are eligible to receive a Certificate of Satisfactory Completion signed by the Dean of The New School for Social Research.