International human rights refer to a body of international laws, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as well as regional human rights systems such as that of the Council of Europe and its European Convention on Human Rights. Human rights provide a set of universal minimum standards based on, among others, values of human dignity, autonomy and equality, in line with the rule of law. Human rights underpin other regulations relevant to AI, such as data protection, and are the cornerstone of any democratic system. It is within this overall framework that other binding regulations, such as product safety, or non-binding regulations, such as ethics, contribute to the development of responsible AI.

AI technologies provide a range of economic and social opportunities that can increase people’s well-being. The power, scale, and speed of AI systems can improve efficiency and effectiveness in numerous domains, including healthcare, transport, education, and public administration. AI systems/technologies promises to advance the protection and fulfilment of human rights, such by making personalised education and medical diagnosis and treatment services more widely available and accessible. However, AI technologies can also challenge human rights, democracy, and the rule of law and be used to violate human rights accidently or deliberately. Policymakers, technologists and all stakeholders must ensure that AI systems are designed in a way that respects the rule of law, human rights, democratic values and diversity. 

The Council of Europe is conducting a feasibility study and identifying elements of one or more legal instruments, possibly binding and non-binding, to support the design, development and implementation of AI systems compatible with human rights, democracy and the rule of law. This work involves an ad hoc committee (CAHAI) as well as all sectors of the Council of Europe working in a complementary way on a general legal instrument and specialised instruments.