A/80/278 I. Introduction 1. The present report builds on the previous report of the Special Rapporteur, on the digitalization of cultural heritage (A/HRC/58/60). It addresses the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on cultural rights, in particular the freedom indispensable for creative activity, the right to artistic freedom and the right to enjoy the arts, as well as the right to the protection of the moral and m aterial interests of authors. These are all important elements of the right to participate in cultural life, which States have undertaken to respect and protect in accordance with article 15 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. 2. AI has expanded so rapidly and so extensively in the past decade that there has been no time to reflect on its implications. There is no doubt that AI tools offer amazing support for creative solutions that affect many aspects of society. AI tools can help to push the imagination and help people to visualize solutions for their well being and enjoyment. They can amplify the exercise of the right to participate in cultural life. 3. Despite the definite genuine support that AI can offer for creative solutions, the bulk of AI creative tools today are hijacked by big technology corporations whose main interest is not the advancement of humanity, but rather economic profit. United Nations reports have repeatedly highlighted the need to look at how AI and AI tools are actually used currently in the hands of these private, profit-based powerful companies. 1 4. There has certainly been a delay in taking measures to address the shortcomings of AI. Instead, the positive aspects of AI are pushed so much by marketing campaigns that the world’s collective eyes are not set on the shortcomings. High-tech corporations and investors assure us that AI is the next big development that will revolutionize our realities, support our dreams and improve our lives. Project after project, we are informed that machines will gradually perform all mundane tasks, leaving people with more space for the important ones, and that AI will make our decisions, even medical ones, and will ensure our comfort. The information is relentless, and the rapidly shifting nature of AI technologies prevents us from engaging with a clear head regarding the benefits and concerns these developments raise. 2 Without the time to reflect on these questions, the “inevitable” character of technological advancements is put forward, together with the urge to embrace, and not fight, AI. 5. The High-level Advisory Body on Artificial Intelligence has noted: “When we look back in five years, the technology landscape could appear drastically different from today. However, if we stay the course and overcome hesitation and doubt, we can look back in five years at an AI governance landscape that is inclusive and empowering for individuals, communities and States everywhere. It is not technological change itself, but how humanity responds to it, that ultimately matters.” 3 This is the basis for the focus of the present report on creativity. 6. The international human rights obligations of States prescribe the need to take specific and special measures to address and mitigate the shortcomings of AI. After consideration of the relevant work of the United Nations, 4 including that of the Office __________________ 1 2 3 4 4/21 For an overview of the numerous reports on this topic, see A/HRC/56/45. Submission by Saudi Arabia. Governing AI for Humanity, Final Report (United Nations publication, 2024), para. 216. See A/79/296; A/HRC/43/29; and United Nations, “Guidance of the Secretary-General: human rights due diligence for digital technology use”, May 2024. 25-12403