AI, cultural rights and the right to development

The United Nations Expert Mechanism on the Right to Development (EMRTD) recently published a study examining the implications of AI for cultural rights and the right to development, with particular attention to cultural participation, cultural diversity, creative production, Indigenous Peoples, and traditional knowledge systems. Ahead of the 63rd session of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC63), which will take place from September 7 to October 9, 2026, in Geneva, the publication and presentation of the study provide an important opportunity to assess how international human rights standards are responding to the rapid development and deployment of AI, and whether they adequately take into account the cultural and structural inequalities embedded in these technologies.

The Association for Progressive Communications (APC) and Derechos Digitales conducted an analysis of the study and consider it an important contribution to ongoing efforts to center human rights, community participation, and cultural self-determination in AI governance.