The Algorithmic Panopticon: Navigating The Legal and Ethical Vacuum of AI Surveillance
Keywords:
Artificial Intelligence, Technology, Surveillance, Ethical Duties, Algorithmic TransparencAbstract
The rapid integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into digital
surveillance systems represents a new era of monitoring and
governance. While AI-powered tools such as facial recognition,
predictive policing, and biometric identification promise
enhanced efficiency for state and private actors, they
simultaneously pose profound ethical and legal challenges to
foundational civil liberties. This paper provides a comprehensive
analysis of these challenges, focusing on critical concerns related
to privacy erosion, algorithmic bias, the absence of meaningful
consent, and significant accountability gaps. Through a
comparative examination of legal frameworks and landmark
case studies across India, the United States, the United Kingdom,
and China, this paper demonstrates a global trend toward a
"technological panopticon" where the pursuit of security and
efficiency conflicts with the protection of human rights. The
analysis reveals a complex landscape characterised by reactive,
fragmented legal responses in democratic nations, in stark
contrast to the proactive, state-centric models of authoritarian
regimes. This paper concludes by advocating for the
implementation of a human-centred governance framework
grounded in principles of mandatory human oversight,
algorithmic transparency, and strengthened legal safeguards to
ensure that technological innovation serves to augment, rather
than erode, justice and equity.
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References
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Reshaping Repression” 30(1) Journal of Democracy 40-52 (2019).
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