Don't Forget That There Are People in the Data: LLMs in the Context of Human Rights

Abstract Large language models (LLMs), and generative AI generally, raise significant concerns regarding human rights. Their promise in finding insights in patterns of data have to be weighed against potential risks to individuals and societies. The typical perspective, which emphasizes accuracy, capability, or scope of such systems, overlooks the fact that generative AI technologies exploit massive collections of data about human behaviors, thoughts, and ideas. The datafication of human life should be examined through the lens of human rights, specifically with regard to autonomy, dignity, equality, and community. This piece argues that discussions about LLMs and generative AI are inherently linked to data originated from individuals, whose information are embedded in the training data. Data are human rights issues because information about individuals are buried in the data. Technical solutions alone are insufficient to address the human rights distortions produced by LLMs. Policy should focus instead on the fact that data are collected on rights-bearing individuals and groups who have been given very little leeway to discuss the implications of or choose to be in the enterprise of creating generative AI.