AI Literacy as a Fundamental Right

The fundamental right to AI literacy will provide a baseline for supporting education, equality, democratic participation, and social integration in a period of mass AI automation | Edition #296

“Raven tree” by Caspar David Friedrich, 1822 (oil on canvas, modified)

AI literacy should be recognized as a fundamental right, and countries should promote it as a corollary to the right to education and a minimum baseline to support equality, democratic participation, and social integration.

At this point, no country has officially addressed AI literacy as a fundamental right.

This is my call to policymakers, lawmakers, and advocates to take action to support people and society in a time of accelerated change.

In a few years, people without access to AI literacy will have difficulty integrating into society, especially in urban settings and in areas with high AI penetration.

The first reason is that many services, both public and private, will be AI-powered or built on the assumption that their beneficiaries and users can navigate AI and understand the risks.

In many places, scheduling a medical appointment through the public health system, interacting with a government platform, or buying groceries will be fully or partially automated by AI.

The inability to interact effectively with these systems will lead to lower-quality services, loss of benefits, inability to fully integrate, failure to thrive, or harm.

It might also directly undermine fundamental rights or one’s right to life itself.

The second reason is that institutions are currently being reshaped to cater to the interests and needs of people who are familiar with AI and use it on a daily basis. This is a continuous process, and we expect it to be more accentuated in the coming years.

People who interact with AI and are minimally literate in AI will understand, for example, that generative AI systems often produce inaccurate information. AI outputs can be biased, and with facial recognition systems, error rates can vary by skin color. They will also understand that the LLMs interacting with them are not people, do not have feelings, and are often overly agreeable, so interactions should be handled accordingly.

Even if a person wants to reject AI in a personal capacity (an understandable and legitimate standpoint), I don’t think it will be possible to avoid AI literacy or AI exposure without receiving suboptimal services, both public and private.

There will obviously be AI divides (aggravating existing divides and creating new ones), and policymakers are not talking enough about the social and individual consequences of not having access to high-quality AI literacy resources, opportunities, and support.

From an ideological point of view, healthy AI skepticism will be, to some extent, stifled by widespread AI deployment and exposure, especially through government and private sector deployment and in public settings.

Unfortunately, for most people, avoiding AI will come at a price that many will not be ready or able to afford.

AI is society's new digital architecture and cognitive layer, whether most people want it or not.

The embrace of AI is thus indirectly mandated.

From a societal perspective, as I wrote above, it is the role of governments to provide the minimum resources and conditions that will help people adapt and thrive in an AI-swayed world.

Realistically speaking, many will have insufficient access to AI literacy and will lose access to benefits, resources, and their social and financial standing.

Others will have better access, but not enough to help them thrive in a constantly changing, fully automated society.

Others will thrive, having access to the right conditions, resources, connections, and skills.

Capitalism will be fully reshaped by AI, but its human challenges and divides will remain. Perhaps even more intensely and harshly.

The right to AI literacy will offer a minimal baseline to support education, equality, democratic participation, and social integration.

It will also help people thrive, access essential services, and exercise their rights.