Technological colonization and constitutional dysfunction. The role of AI-driven profiling and targeting practices

Over the past decade, profiling and targeting practices have been significantly enhanced by AI systems and reinforced by insights from neuroscience and behavioural science. This research explores these developments with the aim of highlighting the deep constitutional challenges they pose, that affect both the individual, including human dignity, personal identity, and self-determination, and the broader democratic functioning of the legal system. These concerns call for a shift from the EU’s current piecemeal regulatory approach toward the creation of a “critical mass” of protections. This framework should serve as a “safe harbour” offering a more comprehensive and effective safeguard than the mere attribution of individual rights, which places the burden of resisting such pervasive, intrusive, and collectively impactful practices on the individual alone.