GPD and partners launch Tech Harms Check to strengthen human rights screening in digital development
Global Partners Digital (GPD) launched the beta version of Tech Harms Check, a new tool for your AI assistant to help you spot potential human rights impacts in your tech and digital programming, making human rights screening more accessible and practical.
Technology is increasingly central to development initiatives, from digital public infrastructure and public service delivery to programmes supporting connectivity and digital inclusion. While these interventions can bring significant benefits, they can also introduce or exacerbate human rights risks. Identifying these risks early is essential, but organisations often lack the specialist expertise, resources, or practical tools needed to do so systematically.
Tech Harms Check aims to bridge this gap by providing you with an accessible, first step screening tool for project managers, donors, and practitioners working across technology and digital development.
From human rights principles to practice
Tech Harms Check uses a knowledge base developed by digital rights experts and practitioners. Users can share project information, respond to guided questions, and receive a structured report highlighting potential impacts and suggested mitigation measures. The tool provides an initial screening rather than replacing comprehensive human rights impact assessments or expert judgement.
The beta version is available for individual use through Claude, with opportunities for organisational integration and customisation, including within Microsoft Copilot environments.
Bringing together perspectives from across the digital development ecosystem
We launched the tool with an online event bringing together experts and practitioners to explore how organisations can translate human rights commitments into practical decisions about technology and digital development. The discussion explored the challenges of integrating human rights considerations into the design, funding, and implementation of digital initiatives, and how practical tools such as Tech Harms Check can help organisations move from principles to practice. Participants were also introduced to the tool through a live demonstration of its functionality and potential applications.
Tech Harms Check was developed by Global Partners Digital in collaboration with the Danish Institute for Human Rights (DIHR), DraftLab, and DOT STUDIO, with support from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Canada, The German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH. The beta launch marks an important milestone in this collaborative effort to make human rights considerations a more practical and accessible part of digital development planning and implementation.
Explore Tech Harms Check
As Tech Harms Check enters its beta phase, GPD welcomes feedback from practitioners, donors, and organisations interested in testing the tool. Visit Tech Harms Check to learn more, request access, and explore how the tool can support human rights screening in your projects.