By Hester Dek - PILPG-NL Intern
“A pro bono law firm does not have the resources to help with everything or everyone”.
According to Dr. Marieke de Hoon, Assistant Professor VU Amsterdam and Direction & Senior Counsel of PILPG Netherlands, this led PILPG to set up the Virtual Human Rights Lawyer project (‘VHRL’) – a joint project of the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and the Netherlands Office of the Public International Law & Policy Group (PILPG). The project works towards making information on human rights more accessible by using chatbot technology.
On September 27, 2019, PILPG organized the ‘Creating a Virtual Human Rights Lawyer Conference’ to present the prototype of the VHRL and reflect on the function of technology in the human rights discourse. The conference focussed on the conceptualization of the VHRL, the challenges to the execution of the project, and exploring possibilities for development. Dr. de Hoon provided an overview of the project, together with three senior research associates – Bethany Houghton, Gabriella Gricius, Jasmijn de Zeeuw – and former research associate Abby Roberts. They explained some of the challenges to the project including data protection and simplifying otherwise technical legal terms.
This was followed by a panel discussion on “Enhancing Human Rights Redress through Chatbot Technology: Opportunities and Challenges” with experts from the field of psychology, law, and technology. “The project is about contributing to helping people overcome human rights violations, not about making them even more vulnerable” said Dr. de Hoon and, a sentiment echoed by Mr. Sinteur – Co-founder of Radically Open Security. They emphasized that – the VHRL team should be mindful of cyber security risks. Mr. Sinteur advised the VHRL against designing its own technology, as this could make it easier for it to be blocked, especially if state actors had reservations about the scope of the project. In response, Ms. Serrurier – Co-founder of AI Training.nl and Associate Partner at Holland Consulting Group – observed that the risk of encountering objections from states also exists with human agents. An most important takeaway was that the best manner to deal with this risk is by communicating it well.
Besides highlighting the importance of communicating the risk of cyber security, Dr. de Hoon stressed on the importance of managing the expectations of the VHRL. Dr. de Hoon clarified that the VHRL is a navigation and knowledge tool, and that it should not be seen as a replacement for a real lawyer.
The panel discussion also prompted, discussion on the benefits of the project. Mr. McMahon discussed how technology-friendly projects like the VHRL could fill the accessibility gap created by international courts like the ICC. Ms. Chahuneau – Senior Legal Advisor at Parliamentarians for Global Action – also explained that for victims of human rights violations, the mere affirmation that a human right was violated has a validating effect .
Overall, the conference provided PILPG and the attendees with a clear overview of what the design process and implications of the project. Most importantly however, it was an eyeopener on the transformative potential of tools like the VHRL.