Talk on Big Tech's catastrophic impact on human rights
The Head of Big Tech Accountability for Amnesty International, Pat de Brún, will be speaking at SOAS University London about how Big Tech companies pose an unprecedented threat to our human rights.
In his talk, Pat will examine the catastrophic impact of big tech on our human rights:
"Big Tech's voracious pursuit of profit has already resulted in catastrophic consequences for our human rights. From the censorship of pro-Palestinian voices seeking to call out the Israeli military's atrocities in Gaza on social media, to the algorithmic facilitation of mass violence in Myanmar, Ethiopia, and beyond, social media platforms and their parent companies have become central players in practically all struggles for justice and human rights.
it is more important than ever that we seek to understand and disrupt Big Tech's toxic business practices
“Yet the fundamental design and business model underlying these platforms means they are far from neutral actors. They are, instead, hardwired to fuel more conflict, more misinformation, and more harm - all in the name of maximising "user engagement", and by extension, profit.”
Pat will discuss the way social media companies have facilitated genocides, helped to entrench authoritarian governments, and fuelled the global rise of the far-right.
"Urgent action is needed to force a change of course for Big Tech, lest these problems deteriorate even further. This year, with over 2 billion people set to vote in critical elections around the world, and new and emerging AI technologies posing expanded threats to our rights, it is more important than ever that we seek to understand and disrupt Big Tech's toxic business practices" Pat added.
The SOAS event will also look at whether social media addiction is fuelling a mental health crisis and limiting our prospects for collective political action and transformative change.
In 2018, Pat completed his Master of Laws at SOAS University of London, specialising in Human Rights, Conflict and Justice. Pat then began working for Amnesty in as a Regional Researcher based in Thailand.
He has since moved on to become Head of Big Tech Accountability and is also the Deputy Director of Amnesty’s global technology and human rights programme which works to ensure new and emerging technologies are not used to harm human rights.
Pat's research has assessed the role that Facebook's algorithms played in fuelling the Rohingya genocide and brought light onto Big Tech's censorship of pro-democracy activists in Vietnam. He is currently undertaking a part-time PhD at SOAS School of Law.
The event titled “Rights on the line: Big Tech and the future of human rights” will take place on Thursday 29 February at 5pm.
