Risks of creative AI in Myanmar
Submission to the UN OHCHR Special Rapporteur in the Field of Cultural Rights – May 2025
Introduction
Over the past fifteen years, Myanmar has exemplified both the promise and the peril of rapid
technological change. Cut off from global advances until political reforms began in 2012, the
public leapfrogged to widespread use of smartphones, social media, and digital services. This
shift brought major benefits, including broader access to information, economic growth, and
new forms of civic participation. However, it also brought serious human rights harms,
spreading disinformation and hatred, and leading to atrocity crimes. Myanmar’s experience
offers vital lessons for regulating Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Human Rights Myanmar submits this report to the UN Special Rapporteur in the Field of
Cultural Rights to underscore the need for rights-based AI governance, particularly in
repressive and conflict-affected contexts like Myanmar, where “heightened due diligence” is
paramount.
Harnessing AI for inclusive creativity
AI could bring transformative creative potential for Myanmar, expanding access to cultural life
to the country’s diverse communities, and facilitating the right of people to benefit from
scientific progress. AI can:
•
Recreate Bagan’s temples in virtual form, enabling local communities to guide
restoration and interpretation efforts;
•
Digitise endangered Chin oral stories, preserving them and making them searchable;
•
Translate song lyrics from Rohingya, Shan and other minority languages into Burmese
(and vice versa), fostering inter-community dialogue;
•
Convert public-health messages into simple cartoons or sign-language animations,
enhancing accessibility for low-literacy and deaf audiences;
AI as a tool of military repression
To date, AI applications in Myanmar have overwhelmingly served State repression. Given that
the military actively targets everyone who expresses themselves, creatives are often primary