Protecting Human Rights in the Digital Age in Light Ofthe European Union's Artificial Intelligence Act: Ahuman Rights Based Analysis of the Risk Basedregulatory Model
Year: 2026
Type: conference-paper
Abstract: Technological advancements today have initiated a process of digital transformation that profoundly impacts social structures and individuals' positions within society. At the heart of this transformation lie artificial intelligence systems, which offer efficiency and innovation on one hand,while posing significant risks to fundamental human rights, privacy, and democratic values on the other. As algorithmic decision making increasingly shapes individuals' rights and freedoms, serious questions arise about the adequacy of existing human rights regulation. The European Union's Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act) is the first comprehensive legal framework aimed at regulating AI while protecting fundamental rights through a risk based approach. Adopting a humanrights based approach (HRBA) as its principal analytical lens, and drawing secondarily on theories of precautionary risk regulation and digital constitutionalism, this study examines the AI Act's risk based model and analyses the threats of algorithmic discrimination, mass surveillance and democratic erosion that AI systems pose. The article further assesses the compatibility of the AI Act with the European Convention on Human Rights, the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, the Council of Europe Framework Convention on Artificial Intelligence, and the broader United Nations human rights framework, before evaluating whether the EU's regulatory influence is likely to generate a global standard through the so called Brussels Effect.
Author: Esra Özgün TEKIN
Institution: Kırıkkale University
Language: English
Subfield: Law
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W7221577678