Afterword: Eyal Benvenisti and his Critics

• McGregor, Lorna 1

Abstract

A growing body of literature examines how to make the use of new and emerging technologies more transparent and explainable as a means to ensure accountability for harm to human rights. While a critical part of accountability, a predominant focus on the technology can result in the design and adaptation of accountability principles to ‘manage’ the technology instead of starting from an assessment of the governance choices actors make when integrating new and emerging technologies into their mandates. Recognition of the governance choices underpinning the introduction of new and emerging technologies is often overlooked in scholarship and practice. Yet, without explicit recognition of the role played by technology in governance, the disruptive effects of technology on (global) governance may be underplayed or even ignored. In this response, I argue that if the ‘culture of accountability’ is to adapt to the challenges posed by new and emerging technologies, the focus cannot only be technology-led. It must also be interrogative of the governance choices that are made within organizations, particularly those vested with public functions at the international and national level.

• 1Professor of International Human Rights Law and Director, Human Rights Centre, University of Essex. Principal Investigator, Human Rights, Big Data and Technology Project