Global Journal of Multidisciplinary and Applied Sciences

Ethical and Governance Challenges in Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technologies

Ayesha Riaz

Department of Computer Science Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan

Muhammad Bilal Khan

School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (SEECS) National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), Islamabad, Pakistan

Keywords: AI ethics, governance, accountability, algorithmic bias, privacy

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Abstract

 Artificial Intelligence (AI) and emerging technologies (e.g., Internet of Things, biometrics, and autonomous systems) are rapidly reshaping decision-making in government, industry, and everyday life. Alongside benefits, these systems introduce ethical risks—privacy intrusion, bias and discrimination, opacity, safety failures, labor displacement, and concentration of power—while exposing governance gaps in accountability, auditing, and enforcement. This paper synthesizes major ethical challenges across the AI lifecycle (data, model design, deployment, monitoring) and proposes a practical governance framing grounded in internationally recognized standards and policy instruments. We argue that effective governance requires risk-based regulation, organizational controls (impact assessments, audits, incident reporting), and socio-technical safeguards (human oversight, contestability, and transparency). We conclude with an implementation-oriented roadmap that integrates AI risk management practices with rights-based ethics to support trustworthy, socially beneficial innovation.