PRIORITISING CHILD RIGHTS PROTECTION IN THE CONTEXT OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: ASSESSMENT OF THE GLITCHES AND GAINS IN NIGERIA

Abstract

Artificial intelligence (AI) drives a lot of activities in many sectors and structures in our society presently. Children are not shut out in the context of this advancement of Artificial Intelligence, thereby bringing to the fore, the concern of child rights protection in this digital age. Though, artificial intelligence will in many ways provide prospects and advantages to children, it on the other hand poses a lot of risks to their rights, development and well-being, especially in cases of AI interactions devoid of parental guidance and age-inappropriate applications and programs. This work therefore appraises child rights protection in the context of artificial intelligence with a view to accentuating the prospects and challenges of Artificial intelligence on Childs rights and well-being. The article adopts a doctrinal research methodology, relying on primary and secondary legal materials, including relevant international and regional human rights instruments, national legislation, judicial decisions, regulatory frameworks and scholarly literature. The study discovered and concluded that AI technologies have the likelihood of exposing children to dangerous or injurious content, excessive data collection that threaten their privacy rights and other forms of exploitation which raise fundamental questions concerning the extent to which existing child-rights laws are capable of regulating emerging AI technologies and providing effective remedies where children's rights are violated. It is recommended inter alia that Before AI systems are deployed, mandatory child-rights impact assessments should evaluate their effects on children’s well-being and data protection laws, and AI safeguards should be strengthened through privacy-by-design, safety testing, accountability measures and criminalisation of AI-generated child sexual abuse material.