DIGITAL PRIVACY RIGHTS IN THE AGE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: A SOCIO-LEGAL ANALYSIS

The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence technologies has fundamentally transformed the landscape of digital privacy, creating unprecedented challenges for legal frameworks designed in an analog era. This paper examines the socio-legal dimensions of privacy rights in the context of AI-driven data processing, surveillance, and automated decision-making systems. Through an analysis of contemporary legal frameworks, judicial precedents, and emerging regulatory approaches, this research explores the tensions between technological innovation and fundamental privacy rights. The study reveals that existing legal structures are inadequately equipped to address the unique privacy threats posed by AI systems, including opaque algorithmic processes, predictive analytics, and the erosion of informational self- determination. Drawing on comparative analysis of regulatory responses in the European Union, United States, and India, this paper argues for a reconceptualization of privacy rights that accounts for the socio-technical realities of AI systems. The research concludes by proposing a hybrid regulatory framework that combines rights-based protections with technical safeguards and algorithmic accountability mechanisms to preserve human dignity and autonomy in an increasingly automated society.