Human Rights Watch director: AI, in the hands of autocratic governments, will accelerate their ability to control and surveil the population'

"The so-called democratic backsliding isn't the future: it's the present. This is what Human Rights Watch (HRW) has laid bare in its annual report, released this month. The compilation of human rights violations confirms that we're witnessing the collapse of the global order that was meticulously crafted over decades, amid the apparent passivity of many of its defenders. The new executive director of HRW, 52-year-old Philippe Bolopion,"

"is the new battleground for human rights, and such technology is a very dangerous tool in the hands of authoritarian governments. Question. You maintain that 2025 marked a turning point for human rights. Is the end of this freefall in sight? Answer. It's 20 years in a row of democracy receding every year, so it's not like ups and downs."

Human Rights Watch documents widespread human rights violations including ethnic cleansing, premeditated famines, erosion of the rule of law, and interference in foreign countries without legal justification. Democratic backsliding is a current, steady trend rather than a future risk. The global order built over decades appears to be collapsing amid the apparent passivity of many defenders. Philippe Bolopion attributes an acceleration of this decline to the trajectory of the United States and warns that artificial intelligence has become a dangerous new battleground for rights in authoritarian hands. Democratic erosion commonly proceeds through elected leaders who gradually undermine checks and balances and restrict the opposition.

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