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The Digital Dissent: AI, Algorithmic Bias, and Constitutional Guarantees
Subject area: Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities · Area of research: Law and Artificial intelligence
Abstract
“Technology can be a great enabler but it can also be a great threat to privacy unless we ensure that our constitutional guarantees are not rendered illusory in the digital age” – JUSTICE D.Y. CHANDRACHUD The escalating integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and advanced technology into governance and society poses profound, immediate threats to established constitutional rights. This research paper offers a critical analysis of the constitutional challenges arising from AI's deployment across three critical areas: Equality, Privacy, and Due Process. Regarding Equality and Non-Discrimination, the paper examines how opaque AI algorithms, often trained on biased datasets, perpetuate systemic prejudice in high-stakes decisions like judicial sentencing and resource allocation. This lack of algorithmic transparency fundamentally undermines the constitutional guarantee of equal protection, necessitating the recognition of algorithmic bias as a direct form of constitutional harm. The proliferation of AI-driven mass surveillance technologies, such as facial recognition and predictive policing, directly assaults the Right to Digital Privacy. Current constitutional safeguards, designed for an earlier technological era, prove inadequate against ubiquitous, constant data collection and analysis. The research advocates for the evolution of the right to privacy into a robust 'Right to Informational Self-Determination,' placing strict constitutional limits on state and corporate data exploitation. Finally, the paper addresses Due Process concerns stemming from autonomous, unreviewable decision-making. Ensuring a fair hearing and the Right to an Effective Remedy becomes impossible when fundamental rights are affected by AI systems whose internal reasoning is incomprehensible. Ultimately, reconciling AI's transformative power with enduring constitutional values requires proactive judicial innovation and legislative reform to establish clear, enforceable standards for technologically informed constitutional governance. This reconciliation is essential for preserving the rule of law in the digital age.
Keywords
Technology, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Constitutional Rights, Equality (or NonDiscrimination), Privacy (or Digital Privacy), Due Process, Equal Protection, Algorithmic Transparency
References
[1] Cases:
[2] Justice K.S. Puttaswamy (Retd.) v. Union of India, (2017) 10 SCC 1.
[3] Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India, (1978) 1 SCC 248.
[4] E.P. Royappa v. State of Tamil Nadu, (1974) 4 SCC 3.
[5] Kharak Singh v. State of Uttar Pradesh, AIR 1963 SC 1295.
[6] S. Rangarajan v. P. Jagjivan Ram, (1989) 2 SCC 574.
[7] Modern Dental College v. State of MP, (2016) 7 SCC 353.
[8] Bachan Singh v. State of Punjab, (1980) 2 SCC 684.
[9] Legislation and Reports:
[10] The Constitution of India.
[11] The Information Technology Act, 2000.
[12] The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023.
[13] European Union Artificial Intelligence Act, 2021.
[14] Report of the Committee of Experts on a Data Protection Framework for India (Chair:
[15] Justice B.N. Srikrishna), 2018.
[16] "The Age of Surveillance Capitalism" - Shoshana Zuboff, PublicAffairs (2019).
[17] "Weapons of Math Destruction" - Cathy O'Neil, Crown Publishing Group (2016).
[18] Scholarly Articles:
[19] Barocas, Solon, & Selbst, Andrew D. "Big Data's Disparate Impact." California Law Review, Vol. 104, p. 671 (2016).
[20] Citron, Danielle Keats. "Technological Due Process." Washington University Law Review, Vol. 85, p. 1249 (2008).
[21] Pasquale, Frank. "The Black Box Society: The Secret Algorithms That Control Money and Information." Harvard University Press (2015).
[22] Satpathy, Jyotsna. "Algorithmic State: The Future of Governance and the Challenge to Constitutional Rights." Indian Law Review, Vol. 6, Issue 2 (2022).
[23] Singh, M.P. "The Constitution and Technology: A Jurisprudential Perspective." Journal of the Indian Law Institute, Vol. 62, No. 1 (2020).
[24] Wachter, S., Mittelstadt, B., & Floridi, L. "Why a Right to Explanation of Automated Decision-Making Does Not Exist in the General Data Protection Regulation." International Data Privacy Law, Vol. 7, Issue 2 (2017).
[25] Shivnarayan, R. & Desai, D. "The Invisible Caste: Algorithmic Bias and Social Inequality in India." NUJS Law Review, Vol. 14, Issue 3 (2021).
How to cite this paper
@article{1715742,
author = {Rajat Srivastava, Maneesh A. Srivastava},
title = {The Digital Dissent: AI, Algorithmic Bias, and Constitutional Guarantees},
journal = {Iconic Research And Engineering Journals},
year = {2026},
volume = {9},
number = {9},
pages = {2641-2651},
issn = {2456-8880},
url = {https://www.irejournals.com/formatedpaper/1715742.pdf},
abstract = {“Technology can be a great enabler but it can also be a great threat to privacy unless we ensure that our constitutional guarantees are not rendered illusory in the digital age”
– JUSTICE D.Y. CHANDRACHUD
The escalating integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and advanced technology into governance and society poses profound, immediate threats to established constitutional rights. This research paper offers a critical analysis of the constitutional challenges arising from AI's deployment across three critical areas: Equality, Privacy, and Due Process. Regarding Equality and Non-Discrimination, the paper examines how opaque AI algorithms, often trained on biased datasets, perpetuate systemic prejudice in high-stakes decisions like judicial sentencing and resource allocation. This lack of algorithmic transparency fundamentally undermines the constitutional guarantee of equal protection, necessitating the recognition of algorithmic bias as a direct form of constitutional harm. The proliferation of AI-driven mass surveillance technologies, such as facial recognition and predictive policing, directly assaults the Right to Digital Privacy. Current constitutional safeguards, designed for an earlier technological era, prove inadequate against ubiquitous, constant data collection and analysis. The research advocates for the evolution of the right to privacy into a robust 'Right to Informational Self-Determination,' placing strict constitutional limits on state and corporate data exploitation. Finally, the paper addresses Due Process concerns stemming from autonomous, unreviewable decision-making. Ensuring a fair hearing and the Right to an Effective Remedy becomes impossible when fundamental rights are affected by AI systems whose internal reasoning is incomprehensible. Ultimately, reconciling AI's transformative power with enduring constitutional values requires proactive judicial innovation and legislative reform to establish clear, enforceable standards for technologically informed constitutional governance. This reconciliation is essential for preserving the rule of law in the digital age.
},
keywords = {Technology, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Constitutional Rights, Equality (or NonDiscrimination), Privacy (or Digital Privacy), Due Process, Equal Protection, Algorithmic Transparency},
month = {March},
doi = {https://doi.org/10.64388/IREV9I9-1715742}
}