Digital Horizons and Dignity: A Critical Analysis of Artificial Intelligence and Human Rights in Belize

Abstract

The Government of Belize embarked on an ambitious digital transformation to leverage artificial intelligence (AI) to boost the economy. The primary focus is to improve the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) sector and kickstart a high-value “Orange Economy”. Well-known human rights challenges, however, are at the heart of the country’s governance, problems with the rule of law, accountability and oversight to be specific. This paper takes a conceptual look at this collision of old and new and states that unless the Belizean government introduces a firm, human rights-based management framework, the uncritical application of AI could exacerbate the problems they already have. The results of such an unchecked use of AI could be devastating, with increased surveillance, entrenched social inequality, job losses and erosion of digital sovereignty. Technological determinism is rejected, and a critical theoretical framework is adopted that is grounded in the social construction of technology and the primacy of international human rights law over vague ethical principles. It analyses the effects on privacy, discrimination, freedom of expression, and workers’ rights, and concludes that a rights-based approach is not a barrier to progress, but a necessary prerequisite for fair and sustainable growth. Finally, concrete guidelines are provided for the Belizean government, the private sector and international partners to develop a governance framework that will ensure Belize’s digital future is a future of dignity and opportunity for all its citizens.