Impact of Profit-driven Artificial Intelligence in the UK Academic Freedom: A Critical Analysis within the Framework of Article 10 of the Convention

This paper critically examines how profit-driven artificial intelligence (AI) affects academic freedom in the United Kingdom, focusing on its relationship with Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights and the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023. It argues that AI now plays a central role in shaping how knowledge is produced, shared, and controlled, especially in a "post-truth" society where truth and expertise are increasingly questioned. The study highlights that while AI technologies can support research and detect misinformation, they also create serious risks. These include false accusations of misconduct through unreliable AI detection tools, algorithmic censorship and surveillance of controversial ideas, and deepfake attacks that damage academic reputations. Because all of these systems are profit-driven and opaque, they do undermine transparency, fairness, and the independence of scholarly work. Thus, this paper aims to map these challenges onto Article 10, showing how profit-driven AI-based moderation, automated decision-making, and reputational management can act as indirect restrictions on free expression. It also stresses that universities must ensure human oversight, explainability, and the right to appeal profit-driven AI-based decisions. The main conclusion is that protecting academic freedom in the age of profit-driven AI requires strong institutional safeguards, public transparency, and a reaffirmation of the human values that underpin education.