A/HRC/57/70 algorithm quality, complementarity of technology and the human, and finally the need for interdisciplinary cooperation and collaboration.17 36. Data cleaning aims to refine datasets by removing anomalies and normalizing information. Yet, what constitutes an anomaly may differ significantly across demographic groups. Data cleaning processes that overlook common occurrences within diverse populations of African descent, further marginalize these groups’ health concerns, leading to incomplete and biased datasets that fail to capture the full spectrum of health issues faced by people of African descent. 37. In 2022, the EU established the European Health Data Space (EHDS) to create a common framework for the secondary use of health data. However, ethical concerns persist, particularly regarding patient consent practices. The lack of informed consent exacerbates issues of privacy and data security. Furthermore, there are risks of inequitable access to data, favouring larger, well-funded organizations over smaller entities. 38. The deployment of AI in agriculture often undermines food sovereignty by prioritizing technological solutions over traditional knowledge and practices. 18 Digital technologies and AI can displace small-scale farmers, erode peasant knowledge, and concentrate power in the hands of large corporations.19 This shift threatens the autonomy of local communities and their ability to sustainably manage their food systems. Developing AI technologies that incorporate local knowledge and building local capacities to own and manage these systems can reduce dependency on external actors. 39. Given that to date the private sector has driven most of the research and development of AI applications for health care, national public health-care authorities should adopt a strategic approach to coordinating digitalization policies, research and investment, as well as management and use of personal data, with a view to ensuring full protection of fundamental rights and striking a healthy balance between individual, business and public interests. 20 D. Education, employment and economic empowerment 40. Education and training, employment and economic empowerment are, in the context of digitalization, both means and end. Education and training, alongside the knowledge, skills, expertise, and attitudes that they produce, are in turn foundational to employment, and alongside employment, foundational to economic empowerment. Literacy, including digital literacy, drives development, enables participation in the labour market, reduces poverty, and enhances individual and collective performance on most social development indicators.21 At the moment, the Black-White technological divide is clear, though inconsistently so across some platforms, 22 leaving people of African descent far behind others in digital literacy, fluency and competence because of resource constraints (availability and affordability of devices, internet access and power). 17 18 19 20 21 22 10 Submission by the Council of Europe (CoE), Artificial intelligence in health care: medical, legal and ethical challenges ahead, Doc 15154, available at https://pace.coe.int/pdf/a845d11a279c1ca4ce2896a208196db8b11e79b4226d3d4135c23dd8969a23a3 ?title=Doc.%2015154.pdf. End of mission statement by the Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent following its country visit to Colombia, 2024. FIAN International, “Artificial Intelligence vs. Agroecology?”, 14 November 2023, available at https://www.fian.org/en/press-release/article/artificial-intelligence-vs-agroecology-3218. CoE, Artificial intelligence in health care: medical, legal and ethical challenges ahead. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Report of the Global Conference on Promoting literacy for a world in transition: building the foundation for sustainable and peaceful societies, 2024. Aaron Smith, “African Americans and Technology Use”, Pew Research Center, 6 January 2014, available at https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2014/01/African-Americansand-Technology-Use.pdf; Community Tech Network, “Digital Equity for Black Americans: A Racial Justice Issue”, 6 February 2023, available at https://communitytechnetwork.org/blog/digital-equityfor-black-americans-a-racial-justice-issue/.