Are you agitated and distressed by the unrelenting occurrence of fraudulent, rigged, unfree, and unfair elections; undemocratic practices and human rights violations; corruption and the looting of national resources; and incompetent, unaccountable governance? Are you sick and tired of being sick and tired of these debilitating vices? Well, Artificial Intelligence (AI) can offer some redemptive remedies. However, it is prudent and instructive to understand the context, the transformative possibilities, and the risks.
Peace, justice, and good country governance form the indispensable foundation for sustainable national development. They create the stability, fairness, and institutional integrity needed for societies to thrive. Peace provides a secure environment for economic activity, social cohesion, and long-term planning. At the same time, justice ensures that rights are protected, disputes are resolved fairly, and citizens trust the rule of law.
Good governance — rooted in accountability, transparency, inclusiveness, and effective public institutions — guarantees that resources are managed responsibly, corruption is minimised, and development policies are implemented efficiently and equitably. Together, these three pillars (peace, justice, and good country governance) foster an enabling environment for investment, innovation, and human development, allowing a country to unlock and drive socio-economic transformation that benefits all citizens.
Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions constitute UN SDG 16. This goal aims to engender peaceful and inclusive societies, provide access to justice for all, and build accountable, democratic institutions. The challenges in achieving these ambitions are immense and daunting. They range from corruption and crime to human rights violations and ineffective governance. Indeed, SDG 16 is central to achieving a peaceful, just, and inclusive world.
A foundation for social progress, this goal underscores the importance of reducing violence, ending corruption, ensuring transparent governance, and promoting the rule of law. However, widespread challenges – ranging from bureaucratic inefficiency and judicial backlogs to human trafficking, cybercrime, corruption, election rigging and misgovernance – pose substantial barriers to realising these aspirations.
Can AI achieve this?
Without hesitation, ambiguity or prevarication, this question must be answered in the affirmative. AI technologies are increasingly being utilised to advance these three foundational pillars. AI can process vast datasets, identify trends, predict outcomes, and automate tasks, making it invaluable for addressing complex governance and justice issues. The transformative technology can help achieve SDG 16 by focusing on AI applications that support law enforcement, judicial reform, anti-corruption initiatives, human rights, institutional transparency, election management, government efficiency, and effective service delivery.
Crime prevention, law enforcement
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One of the most promising applications of AI in supporting peace and justice is crime prevention and law enforcement. By analysing large datasets, AI can identify crime patterns, predict potential incidents, and help law enforcement deploy resources effectively. Predictive policing is an area where AI has shown significant promise, using Machine Learning algorithms to analyse historical crime data and anticipate where future crimes are likely to occur. For example, AI-powered systems such as PredPol (Predictive Policing) analyse data from past incidents — including location, time, and crime type — to provide real-time recommendations on where police should focus their efforts.
This proactive approach can help law enforcement agencies prevent crime and allocate resources more efficiently. Additionally, AI can support facial recognition and video analysis, enabling more accurate identification of suspects and aiding investigations. By enhancing the precision and speed of investigative processes, AI can reduce crime rates and improve public safety, supporting the goal of creating peaceful and secure communities.
However, it is essential to consider the ethical implications and risks of AI-driven predictive policing. Issues such as algorithmic bias, privacy concerns, and the potential for AI misuse by law enforcement must be carefully managed to ensure that AI applications do not lead to unjust outcomes or undermine public trust in law enforcement. Indeed, if applied carefully and effectively, AI can improve the delivery of justice, crime prevention, and law enforcement.
Judicial reform, access to justice
The judicial system is a cornerstone of justice and peace, but many countries face challenges such as case backlogs, limited access to legal resources, and procedural inefficiencies. AI has the potential to transform judicial processes by streamlining case management, improving access to legal information, and supporting fair trial practices.
One of the most promising AI applications in judicial reform is Natural Language Processing, which can analyse and summarise legal documents, helping judges, lawyers, and court clerks process cases more efficiently. For example, AI systems can analyse previous rulings, relevant statutes, and case details to suggest probable outcomes or assist judges in decision-making. By reducing the time spent on document review and research, AI can alleviate case backlogs, enabling courts to handle more cases within a shorter time frame and improving access to justice.
Moreover, AI-powered chatbots and virtual legal assistants are increasingly used to provide legal information and support to the public, particularly in regions with limited legal resources.
These tools can answer basic legal questions, guide individuals through court processes, and even help prepare legal documents, making legal assistance more accessible. For instance, platforms such as DoNotPay use AI to help people contest parking tickets and handle small claims, offering affordable legal support and empowering individuals to seek justice.
While AI offers promising solutions for judicial reform, challenges such as the accuracy and fairness of AI-driven legal recommendations, data privacy concerns, and the need for human oversight remain. To build trust in these systems, it is essential to ensure that AI applications in the judicial system uphold principles of fairness, transparency, and accountability.
Transparency, corruption
Corruption is a pervasive issue that undermines public trust in institutions and hinders social and economic development. It is a scourge that plagues many economies in the global South. AI can play a pivotal role in combating corruption by enhancing transparency, identifying suspicious activities, and monitoring financial transactions for illicit behaviour.
Machine Learning algorithms can analyse financial records, procurement data, and transaction histories to detect patterns that may indicate corrupt practices, such as bribery, embezzlement, or money laundering. For instance, AI systems can flag irregularities in procurement processes by identifying unusual bidding patterns or sudden increases in contract values. By automating these detection processes, AI enables authorities to identify and investigate potential corruption cases more efficiently, reducing the likelihood that illicit activities go unnoticed.
Additionally, AI is being used to monitor government spending and public sector activities to ensure accountability. For example, AI-driven tools can analyse public spending data to ensure funds are allocated and used in accordance with budgetary guidelines. In Kenya, the Open Contracting Data Standard initiative uses AI to analyse procurement data and identify corruption risks in public contracts, helping authorities make procurement processes more transparent and accountable.
However, deploying AI in anti-corruption efforts requires robust data governance to safeguard data integrity, privacy, and accuracy. AI systems must be designed to avoid biases that could produce false positives or disproportionately target specific individuals or groups. Ensuring transparency and accountability in AI systems used in anti-corruption initiatives is critical to building public trust and achieving SDG 16.
Election management, rigging
Electoral fraud, vote rigging, and disputed poll outcomes are the bane of democratic processes worldwide. Artificial intelligence can significantly strengthen the management of national elections by enhancing accuracy, efficiency, accountability, and transparency throughout the electoral cycle.
AI-powered systems can improve voter registration by enabling advanced biometric verification, detecting duplicate entries, and maintaining a clean, up-to-date voter roll. Machine Learning algorithms can support logistics planning by predicting voter turnout, optimising ballot distribution, and streamlining the allocation of polling resources. AI-driven chatbots and digital assistants can also improve civic education and provide real-time election information, ensuring citizens are well-informed and able to participate meaningfully. These capabilities help electoral commissions run more credible, reliable, and efficient elections.
More importantly, AI can be a powerful tool for combating election rigging by identifying and preventing irregularities before, during, and after voting. Computer vision tools can monitor polling stations and detect suspicious activities such as ballot stuffing, tampering, or unauthorised access. Machine Learning models can analyse patterns in vote tallies to flag statistical anomalies that may indicate fraud. Indeed, the technology can play a role in election monitoring and fraud prevention, ensuring the integrity of electoral processes. Machine Learning algorithms can analyse voting patterns and detect irregularities, such as vote manipulation or coercion, thereby providing transparency and ensuring the legitimacy of electoral outcomes.
Furthermore, Natural Language Processing systems can monitor social-media ecosystems to uncover coordinated disinformation campaigns aimed at influencing voter behaviour. Blockchain-enabled, AI-assisted audit trails can further secure vote transmission and results management by ensuring tamper-evident data flows. By augmenting human oversight with intelligent, automated monitoring and verification, AI reduces opportunities for manipulation, strengthens trust in electoral outcomes, and helps safeguard the integrity of democratic processes.
Protecting human rights
Human rights violations have become endemic in many parts of the world. AI is proving to be a valuable tool for human rights protection, helping to monitor and document abuses, identify at-risk populations, and raise awareness. AI-driven image and video analysis tools are being used to detect instances of human rights violations, such as violence against civilians or forced labour. For example, satellite imagery analysis can detect evidence of conflict, such as destroyed infrastructure or mass graves, which human rights organisations can then use to document abuses and bring perpetrators to justice.
AI can also help identify vulnerable populations and prevent human trafficking. By analysing data from social media, immigration records, and transportation data, AI can identify patterns that may indicate trafficking networks or identify individuals at risk of exploitation. For instance, AI algorithms are used by NGOs to monitor social media platforms for suspicious job postings or recruitment tactics that are often associated with human trafficking schemes. This proactive approach enables authorities to intervene before exploitation occurs, protecting individuals from harm.
While AI can enhance human rights protection, ethical considerations, such as data privacy and the risk of AI misuse for surveillance, remain crucial. AI systems used in human rights monitoring must operate under strict ethical guidelines to protect individuals’ privacy and prevent the misuse of data by repressive regimes or other actors.
Strengthening institutions
Strong, transparent institutions are essential for a functioning society, promoting trust between governments and citizens. AI has significant potential to strengthen institutional performance by improving public service delivery, enhancing decision-making, and promoting transparency and accountability in government operations. For example, AI-powered data analytics can help policymakers make more informed decisions by analysing demographic, economic, and social data to identify areas of need and assess policy impacts. By providing data-driven insights, AI enables governments to allocate resources more effectively and respond to societal challenges more efficiently.
Furthermore, AI can enhance public service delivery by automating administrative tasks, reducing bureaucratic inefficiencies, and minimising delays. For instance, AI chatbots can handle routine citizen enquiries, reducing wait times and improving access to information. By strengthening institutional integrity and transparency, AI supports the establishment of robust, accountable governance structures necessary for peace and justice.
However, the use of AI in governance raises questions about accountability, data privacy, and potential biases in algorithmic decision-making. Ensuring that AI applications in public administration are transparent, fair, and subject to oversight is crucial to maintaining public trust and preventing misuse.
Challenges, ethical considerations
While AI offers significant opportunities, its use in sensitive areas such as justice, law enforcement, human rights, election management, and general country governance raises challenges and ethical dilemmas. A key concern is algorithmic bias, which can lead to unfair treatment or reinforce existing prejudices and inequalities. For example, biased data in predictive policing algorithms can disproportionately target marginalised communities, producing discriminatory outcomes. Ensuring fairness in AI requires careful data selection, diverse representation in datasets, and regular audits to identify and correct biases.
Privacy is another critical concern, particularly in applications involving surveillance, human rights monitoring, or public administration. AI systems that analyse personal data must comply with strict data protection regulations to safeguard individual privacy and prevent misuse by repressive regimes or other non-state actors. Transparency and accountability in AI deployment are essential to build trust in these technologies. Institutions must ensure that AI systems are subject to human oversight, with clear mechanisms for challenging or appealing AI-driven decisions where necessary.
Way forward
To harness AI’s full potential for achieving peace, justice, and good governance, the public sector, NGOs, multilateral institutions, and the private sector must invest in ethical AI research, promote data-sharing initiatives, and establish regulatory frameworks for AI in governance. Investing in open-access datasets and AI tools for public use can enhance transparency and stimulate innovation across the peace, justice, and governance sectors. International cooperation is also necessary to address global challenges, such as cross-border crime, human rights abuses, and uneven access to technology, and to establish ethical standards for AI deployment.
It is essential to develop legal frameworks that ensure responsible AI use, protect data privacy, and uphold human rights. These frameworks should include ethical AI design guidelines, accountability mechanisms, and measures to prevent misuse. Building public trust in AI requires a commitment to transparency, fairness, and inclusivity throughout AI development and deployment.
Indeed, Artificial Intelligence holds significant potential to advance peace, justice, and good country governance. The technology offers innovative solutions for building a more just and inclusive society, ranging from crime prevention and judicial reform to enhanced transparency and human rights protection. However, ethical challenges, including algorithmic bias, privacy concerns, and the need for transparency, must be addressed to ensure that AI applications serve the public good. With responsible governance, interdisciplinary collaboration, and adherence to ethical principles, AI can play a pivotal role in engendering peace, justice, and strong institutions, contributing to a sustainable future for all. Without doubt, AI is emerging as a powerful tool to enhance country governance, improve access to justice, achieve stability through peace, and promote transparency and accountability.
- This is an adapted excerpt from the book: Deploying Artificial Intelligence to Achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals: Enablers, Drivers and Strategic Framework.
- Mutambara is the director and full professor of the Institute for the Future of Knowledge at the University of Johannesburg in South Africa.
