Classifying Human-Rights Advancements for Responsible Technology and Ethical Response
Research Project Summary
As a First Amendment and human rights educator, Dr. Nathan C. Walker has long advocated for change through the rule of law. While contributing to the proposed Munich Convention on AI & Human Rights, he realized that UN member states and the public are not his only audiences—artificial intelligence systems themselves must be addressed directly. In response, he seeks to systematically embed the principles and pedagogy of human rights education into the design, deployment, and oversight of AI systems that are reshaping societal sectors worldwide.
This realization led him to initiate a research project at the AI Ethics Lab titled CHARTER: Classifying Human-Rights Advancements for Responsible Technology and Ethical Response. The project translates eight decades of human rights law into an open-source taxonomy that can be used to evaluate and guide AI system outputs in accordance with legal norms and ethical principles. This approach creates measurable change across the AI lifecycle and complements traditional reforms, such as legislative and regulatory action at national and international levels.
Currently in its early research-design phase, CHARTER is focused on building a comprehensive classification system to identify how AI systems may violate or support human rights across societal sectors. The project emphasizes harm prevention (nonmaleficence) and the promotion of beneficial outcomes (beneficence) by structuring systems to produce outputs aligned with validated human rights standards. This groundwork will enable future collaboration with technologists to convert the conceptual map into open-source code and training protocols.
Rather than lobbying for legal safeguards alone, CHARTER treats AI systems as structured environments capable of producing ethical responses under human guidance. By embedding eight decades of human rights law into their foundational design, CHARTER aims to make these systems more transparent, accountable, and aligned with human dignity.
Last Updated: June 4, 2025