A key challenge facing human rights globally today is the advent of emerging technologies that mutate rapidly and potentially beyond human control. The UN Human Rights Council in Geneva has thus singled out for special study during the next couple of years four areas of concern: autonomous weaponry, neurotechnology, cyberbullying, and green technology (inevitably linked with climate change). What are the prospects for enjoying the fruits of such technologies and pre-empting their negative implications?
Classically, human rights norms tend to deal with the issue of equality and non-discrimination to prevent persons from being sidelined by prejudices, irrespective of their origins. They might not offer adequate details to cover safety issues which new technology raises. The latter thus calls upon the human rights community to connect well with other stakeholders, such as scientists, ethicists, and a broad range of civil society and other groups. The needed position can thus be termed the "human rights plus" approach.
