THE DANGLING SWORD OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE INFRASTRUCTURE ON HUMAN RIGHTS
Ms. Maitreyee Sanjay Raut, Assistant Professor, KES Shri Jayantilal H. Patel Law College, Mumbai (India)
Artificial Intelligence has emerged as one of the most transformative technologies of the twenty-first century, influencing sectors such as education, agriculture, healthcare, law enforcement, traffic regulation and public administration. However, the rapid growth of AI is not merely a digital phenomenon; it is supported by large-scale physical infrastructure in the form of data centres. These data centres generate substantial heat and require continuous cooling, often through the use of clean freshwater. This raises a serious research problem: whether the increasing dependence on AI infrastructure is placing disproportionate pressure on scarce natural resources, particularly potable water and electricity, and whether such pressure may affect the enjoyment of basic human rights. This paper adopts a doctrinal and analytical research methodology, relying upon research papers, reports, articles, legal instruments and authoritative human-rights sources. It analyses the relationship between AI infrastructure, water consumption, electricity demand, fossil-fuel dependence, environmental degradation and corporate accountability. The paper finds that unchecked expansion of AI data centres may affect the right to safe and clean drinking water, the right to health, the right to information and the right of local communities to participate in decisions that affect their resources. It further argues that technological development cannot be treated as sustainable merely because it is innovative. The paper recommends mandatory human-rights and environmental impact assessments, greater transparency in corporate water and energy usage, public participation in approval processes, adoption of sustainable cooling technologies, and stronger State regulation. It concludes that AI development must be balanced with ecological responsibility and human-rights protection.
| 📄 Type | 🔍 Information |
|---|---|
| Research Paper | LawFoyer International Journal of Doctrinal Legal Research (LIJDLR), Volume 4, Issue 3, Page 549–560. |
| 🔗 Creative Commons | © Copyright |
| This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License . | © Authors, 2026. All rights reserved. |