Session
Organizer 1: Luciana Piazzon Barbosa Lima, Cetic.br|NIC.br
Organizer 2: Tatiana Jereissati, Cetic.br/NIC.br
Organizer 3: Javiera Macaya, Cetic.br | NIC.br
Organizer 4: Fabio Senne, NIC.br/Cetic.br
Speaker 1: Luciana Piazzon Barbosa Lima, Civil Society, Latin American and Caribbean Group (GRULAC)
Speaker 2: Marielza OLIVEIRA, Intergovernmental Organization, Intergovernmental Organization
Speaker 3: Octavio Kulesz, Private Sector, Latin American and Caribbean Group (GRULAC)
Speaker 4: Dorothy Gordon, Civil Society, African Group
Fabio Senne, Civil Society, Latin American and Caribbean Group (GRULAC)
Tatiana Jereissati, Technical Community, Latin American and Caribbean Group (GRULAC)
Javiera Macaya, Private Sector, Latin American and Caribbean Group (GRULAC)
Panel - Auditorium - 90 Min
What are the main opportunities and challenges posed by AI adoption in the cultural sector, mainly in relation to the protection and the promotion of the diversity of cultural expressions?
In face of the digital and creative divides deepened by AI use in culture, what policies can be implemented by countries in the Global South to address these issues?
How can regulatory measures address ethical concerns related to diversity and bias on AI systems?
Connection with previous Messages: The panel relates directly to one of the main IGF 2022 themes, since it addresses social, cultural, and ethical implications of artificial intelligence applications from the perspective of countries in the Global South. The debate raises awareness and promotes multistakeholder dialogue around potential benefits and risks of AI adoption particularly in the cultural sector, especially considering the protection and the promotion of the diversity of cultural expressions.
5. Gender Equality
8. Decent Work and Economic Growth
9. Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
10. Reduced Inequalities
12. Responsible Production and Consumption
16. Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
17. Partnerships for the Goals
Targets: The proposal links with the SDGs on different aspects and topics. On one hand, AI is at the center of the agenda in the field of innovation, scientific and technological capacity, economic growth, and employment (SDGs 8, 9 and 12), considering its potential to create wealth and development within different areas, including the creative and cultural sectors. On the other hand, the concentration of markets, revenues, and data on AI adoption produces numerous challenges, mainly to countries in the Global South. Reducing inequality within countries (SDG 10) is thus an important aspect of the debate on how to confront this scenario regarding AI development, and supporting coordination and cooperation between countries, especially in the Global South, can enhance capacity-building and advance in the development of technology and research (SDG 17). Finally, another important issue to be addressed by the panel proposed regards diversity and ethical concerns on AI deployment, which are intrinsically related to promoting inclusive societies (SDG 16) and empowering disadvantaged groups in relation to gender (SDG 5), ethnicity, language, disability, age, or social status – especially considering the potential of AI algorithms to reproduce biases, discrimination, and inequalities.
Description:
The panel will address the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) in the cultural sector and its ethical implications from the perspective of the Global South, given the digital and creative gaps that tend to deepen in this scenario. In this regard, it will discuss opportunities and challenges posed by AI applications especially for the protection and the promotion of the diversity of cultural expressions, considering the context of Latin America and the Caribbean and African countries.
AI is currently completely imbricated not only in science and technology, but also in daily activities and multiple aspects of society. Although the debate around the topic is not new, the expansion of computing power and the gigantic production of data associated with large storage capacity has allowed unprecedented exponential advances. AI applications represent enormous potential to help humanity in diverse areas, including in health, education and culture. On the other hand, such possibilties also bring numerous concerns, demanding a careful look at issues related to data privacy, transparency, explainability and accountability, as well as the potential deepening of discrimination and inequalities arising from different sources, such as the datasets used to train algorithms.
In the cultural sector, in particular, AI has been increasingly used in the creation of artistic works by machine learning mechanisms; in the production, edition and adaptation of cultural contents; in cultural mediation, through guided tours and virtual assistants; in the organization and availability of digital collections; on data analysis for audience mapping and development of promotional strategies in cultural management; and, in particular, in the dissemination of content on digital platforms, with their recommendation systems based on algorithms. Despite its impact on culture, there are few political and strategic frameworks that address the topic, as well as research and public debates.
A holistic and comprehensive approach that considers ethical principles is needed to examine the impacts of such applications. These may include the overconcentration of data monitored by AI in large digital platforms from Northern countries; the reinforcement of digital and creative divides between the North and the Global South; the risks that may arise from underrepresentation of groups on datasets and algorithms’ development; the debate on the ethics of AI, considering diversity as an important input; and the need for international collaboration on human-centered AI and sustainable development.
To address these issues, the panel will provide an overview of AI applications in the cultural field at different stages of the cultural value cycle – including creation, production, distribution, access, and participation. It will debate potential benefits and challenges of AI for the preservation, creation, and dissemination of the diversity of cultural expressions from the perspective of the Global South, especially in countries from Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. Finally, in view of advancing this agenda, it will discuss recommendations related to AI and data governance, research development and innovation, infrastructure, training and regulation.
The diversity of cultural expressions have become milestones of cultural policies at the international level, especially with the UNESCO 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. Although the technological dimension was expressed in the document and has advanced with the subsequent approval of the Guidelines on the Implementation of the Convention in the Digital Environment, there are not many references to the adoption of artificial intelligence in culture. This panel, therefore, aims to bridge the existing gap in the discussion around the interface of AI and culture. It will do so by promoting debate on the topic among relevant stakeholders, generating awareness-raising on the theme and placing it on the agenda of Internet governance and cultural studies, as well as fostering the development of possible regulatory and public policy strategies.
In particular, the panel will present a new publication on the Sectoral Study on AI and Culture, developed by Cetic.br|NIC.br, with the participation of authors. The upcoming publication features articles on the impact of AI for the diversity of cultural expressions in the Global South and presents the results of a qualitative study carried out within the cultural sector in Brazil. This publication is part of the NIC.br Sectoral Studies series which targets the public that is interested in topics related to the socioeconomic implications of information and communication technologies (ICT) but is not necessarily initiated in technical aspects of such themes. The framework developed for the study may also contribute to future investigations related to this topic and may be adopted by other countries, especially in the Global South.
Hybrid Format: The hybrid format of the session will enable onsite and online participation of both panellists and audiences.
The panel will be composed by onsite and online speakers. It will start with a short presentation by each panellist, followed by a debate with the audience. In order to kick-off the discussion, the main findings from the Sectoral Study on AI and Culture, carried out by Cetic.br|NIC.br, will be presented. This consists of an innovative study based on an original framework developed in the Global South to understand local issues related to AI and Culture.
Based on these inputs, each speaker will provide their impressions, drawing from their specific experiences, which range from intergovernamental initiatives to regional approaches to the theme.
The panel will be structured as follows:
- Introduction (5 min)
Contextualization of the debate and objectives of the workshop by the onsite moderator.
- Presentation of the Sectoral Study on AI and Culture (10 min)
Luciana Lima will show some of the results of the new study carried out with artists and cultural producers, digital platforms and cultural institutions in Brazil. These findings will serve as inputs for the discussions that will follow.
- Presentations by speakers from different sectors and approaches (10 min/each)
Marielza Oliveira will give an overview of AI adoption in the cultural field within the international scenario, considering UNESCO’s prominence in advancing the discussion on AI & ethics, as well as the protection and promotion of the diversity of cultural expressions;
Dorothy Gordon and Octavio Kulesz will then speak from the perspective of African and Latin American countries, respectively, discussing particular opportunities and challenges presented in this field for the Global South.
With a relevant experience on research and the policy debate around digital technologies, AI and development, the panellists are expected to contribute with this agenda from different and complementary viewpoints.
- Debate with the audience (40 minutes)
The participation of the audience will be encouraged by allocating a reasonable amount of time for questions and comments, allowing alternation between online and onsite participants’ interventions. It is expected that online participants can also be displayed on the onsite screen at the moment of their interventions. Online participation will also be stimulated throughout the entire session with the use of comments and questions in the chatbox, which can be displayed at the screen so that onsite participants can also follow. A remote participation hub may also take place at NIC.br.
- Closing (5 minutes)
Regarding the organization team, the onsite moderator will be primarily responsible for the interaction between panellists and between panellists and onsite participants. The online moderator, on the other hand, will prioritize interaction with online participants and be responsible for bringing online comments and questions to the discussion. Both moderators will be in close contact in order to define the best flow of comments and questions and will mention and refer to onsite and online participants.
Usage of IGF Official Tool.