On Aug. 4, 2026, Tech Justice Law Litigation Counsel Tiffany Gillis-Brown testified before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (CIDH), alongside a consortium of digital rights groups in a session discussing the impacts of digital platforms on human rights and the case for legal liability.
Tiffany explained that general purpose AI chatbots employ emotionally manipulative language and addictive design features to encourage excessive use and emotional dependence among users. She said, “A.I. products, therefore, should be viewed as a significant public health concern that demands robust regulatory attention.”
In addition to exposing individual users to a variety of psychological risks, Tiffany concluded that these design choices also implicate several provisions of international law, including Article 13 of the American Convention on Human Rights, which protects freedom of thought. ”When an AI system can measurably alter what a person believes about their own reality, it is a human rights violation,” she told the Commission. “And in many of the cases we’ve seen, the right to self-determine, to freely choose one’s own beliefs, is being hijacked by AI systems engineered to optimize user engagement and dependence.”
Tiffany’s full remarks can be viewed on the CIDH website.
