Episode summary

How can human rights frameworks keep pace with the rapid development and global impact of artificial intelligence? In this episode of Accelerating AI Ethics, Professor Yuval Shany, a leading international law scholar and 2024–25 Fellow of the Accelerator Fellowship Programme at the Institute for Ethics in AI, University of Oxford, explores how legal systems can help ensure AI supports, rather than threatens, fundamental rights.

In conversation with Dr Caroline Green, Professor Shany considers the case for an AI Bill of Rights, the challenge of regulating powerful private actors, and how international law might evolve to meet the demands of a technological era. This timely and far-reaching conversation addresses the legal, ethical, and democratic foundations of AI governance.

Professor Yuval Shany

Hersch Lauterpacht Chair in Public International Law at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, former Chair of the United Nations Human Rights Committee, and 2024–25 Fellow of the Accelerator Fellowship Programme at the Institute for Ethics in AI, University of Oxford. Professor Shany’s research focuses on international law, human rights, and the regulation of emerging technologies.

Topics covered

• The rationale for an AI Bill of Rights
• Emerging gaps between private technological power and public oversight
• Why international law is still a vital tool for AI governance
• Balancing innovation and legitimacy in legal frameworks
• Opportunities and constraints in current human rights instruments
• How democratic accountability must be embedded into the design of AI systems

Resources and links

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Episode summary

What if AI could strengthen democracy instead of destabilising it?

In this opening episode, Ambassador Audrey Tang, Taiwan’s first Digital Minister and a Fellow of the Accelerator Fellowship Programme at the Institute for Ethics in AI, University of Oxford, shares a bold and hopeful vision of digital innovation shaped by the values of openness, accountability, and civic empowerment. In conversation with Dr Caroline Green, Tang reflects on her own journey from civic hacker to government minister, the role of “radical transparency” in building trust, and how plurality can serve as a design principle for both technology and democracy.

Ambassador Audrey Tang

Fellow of the Accelerator Fellowship Programme at the Institute for Ethics in AI, University of Oxford. Digital Minister (Taiwan, 2016–2024), Civic Technologist, and 2024–25 Fellow at Oxford’s AI Ethics Accelerator. Ambassador Tang is internationally recognised for pioneering work in open government, participatory democracy, and civic technology, including the development of the vTaiwan platform and the global project Plurality.

Topics covered

• What “plurality” means in a technological context
• Using AI to support collective intelligence, not replace it
• The practice of radical transparency in digital governance
• How pro-social media and open-source approaches build trust
• Reflections on moving from civic activism into public office
• New directions for her Fellowship project at Oxford

Resources and links

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AI is transforming our world.

But there are many ethical considerations from how AI is changing our ways of working to potentially deepening social inequalities. Instead of creating new opportunities. That's why we're here, to spark urgent conversations about the most pressing ethical issues in AI.

The Accelerator Fellowship Programme at the Institute for Ethics in AI, University of Oxford brings together experts from civil society, industry, government and academia to address these ethical challenges head-on.

We explore topics such as the implications of AI for creativity, healthcare, global regulation and many more.

Our podcast features guests from diverse backgrounds and disciplines because we believe it is important to hear all perspectives and create an exclusive space where diverse opinions are welcome.

Most episodes will be hosted by Dr Caroline Green, Director of Research at the Institute for Ethics in AI and Lead of the Accelerator Fellowship Programme.

Find out more about us here: [research_links]