Call for Code: AI solutions promote human rights

“Unprecedented advances in digital technology, including generative artificial intelligence, offer us previously unimaginable opportunities to move forward on the enjoyment of human rights and contribute to rescuing the 2030 Agenda,” UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk said in his vision statement, “Human Rights: A Path for Solutions.”

As AI continues to evolve and impact all areas of society and our daily lives, UN Human Rights is collaborating with countries, companies, and civil society to embed a rights-based approach to technological innovation.

This means ensuring its use considers human rights implications and impact, and that effective guardrails to prevent rights abuses are in place, in line with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

It also means supporting initiatives that pilot and use AI to solve real world challenges that put humans at the center. For instance, AI-powered technology projects that address inequality in schools, improve learning tools for underserved students, and recycle clothing waste to help local communities boost their income.

These are actual examples of AI for Good work emerging from a global project backed by UN Human Rights.

Launched in 2018, Call for Code is an initiative driven by the David Clark Cause, founding partner IBM, affiliate partner Linux Foundation, and UN Human Rights to mobilize tech developers from around the world to find human rights-based solutions to today’s most pressing challenges. Now entering its 8th year, Call for Code has emerged as the largest Tech for Good initiative of its kind..

“When new technologies such as AI are grounded in human rights, they can be a force for good to help drive sustainable development and promote human-centred tech, benefitting everyone,” said Anwar Mahfoudh, who heads the Innovation and Analytics Hub at UN Human Rights.

The 2024 winners of the Call for Code challenge included teams that used AI technologies and open-source AI models for different projects that promote equality, dignity, and fairness.

GoBang, a group of students from Georgia Institute of Technology and University of Michigan, USA, developed an AI dashboard for course planning in underfunded schools.

KindThreads created an AI-powered platform to categorize used clothes and provide data-driven recommendations on how they can be recycled.

T-Chai developed an AI-powered homework tutor that provides learning resources for underserved families.

“This year's impressive winners used AI-powered technologies to address community challenges that tackle big SDG and human rights-related problems. Their remarkable solutions not only inspire hope but also reaffirm our shared commitment to leaving no one behind in the fight for justice and equality,” added Mahfoudh.

UN Human Rights provides expertise and guidance on adopting a human rights-based approach to the development and deployment of technologies, including AI.

In June 2024, UN Human Rights established its Innovation and Analytics Hub to help address pressing human rights challenges and advance the 2030 Agenda by leveraging digital transformation, data and analytics, and innovation to create sustainable solutions that enhance the promotion and protection of human rights.