LEGAL AND ETHICAL IMPLICATIONS OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: BALANCING INNOVATION, RESPONSIBILITY, AND HUMAN RIGHTS

Artificial intelligence (AI) has rapidly transformed modern societies, permeating sectors ranging from health care and criminal justice to education and public administration. While AI systems promise efficiency and innovation, they simultaneously generate significant legal and ethical dilemmas. This article explores the dual nature of AI as both a driver of progress and a source of regulatory and moral challenges. Legally, the discussion addresses liability gaps in autonomous decision-making, algorithmic bias, and data ownership under emerging frameworks such as the EU AI Act and UNESCO’s Ethics of AI. Ethically, it examines tensions between human autonomy and technological determinism, accountability deficits in self-learning systems, and implications for human dignity. The research argues that effective AI governance must be grounded in transparency, human oversight, and moral accountability, integrating legal safeguards with ethical obligations. By adopting an “Ethics-by-Design” approach, societies can reconcile innovation with the imperatives of justice and human rights. The article concludes that only through a convergent legal and ethical framework can AI evolve as a genuinely responsible technology serving human welfare.