Session
Center for Technology and Society at FGV Law Schol, Rio de Janeiro
*Luca Belli, Professor and Director, Center for Technology and Society at FGV Law Schol, Rio de Janeiro, Academia, Brazil *Anriette Esterhuysen, Director of Policy and Strategy, APC, Civil society, South Africa *Alek Tarkowski, Director of Strategy, Open Future, Civil society Poland
Agenda and Speakers:
Opening remarks and moderation:
- Luca Belli, Professor and Director, Center for Technology and Society at FGV, Academia, Brazil
- Anriette Esterhuysen, Director of Policy and Strategy at APC, Civil society, South Africa;=
Keynote: How to frame the AI Commons?
- Renata Avila, CEO, Open Knowledge Foundation, civil society Guatemala
First Segment: AI Governance and AI Commons
- Syed Iftikhar, Digital Research Director, Digital Cooperation Organization, intergovernmental organization, Saudi Arabia
- Amreen Taneja, DPG Standards Lead, Digital Public Goods Alliance, UNICEF government, India
- Bianca Kremer, CGI.br Board Member, Researcher and Visiting Professor, CTS-FGV Law, academia Brazil
Break for feedback + Q&A (15 minutes)
Second segment: Is it possible to build the AI Commons?
- Alek Tarkowski, Director of Strategy, Open Future, civil society, Poland
- Gurumurthy Kasinathan, Director IT for Change, civil society, India
Open debate guided by the following structured questions (30 minutes):
- In what ways can the concept of the commons help address biases and inequities in AI systems, and what practical measures can be taken to implement these solutions?
- What are the regulatory and governance implications of community-based governance in the AI Commons, and how feasible is it to implement such vision in practice?
- Is it possible - if so how - to leverage the AI Commons to accelerate progress towards achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and what are the practical steps needed to make this a reality?
- What interests and actors have interests opposed to the success of an AI commons and what strategic elements are needed to take cope with such diverging interests and actors?
Final remarks and takeaways: Anriette Esterhuysen, Director of Policy and Strategy at APC, Civil society, South Africa; Luca Belli, Professor and Director, Center for Technology and Society at FGV, Academia, Brazil
Luca Belli, Professor and Director, Center for Technology and Society at FGV Law Schol, Rio de Janeiro, Academia, Brazi
Anriette Esterhuysen, Director of Policy and Strategy, APC, Civil society, South Africa
Alek Tarkowski, Director of Strategy, Open Future, Civil society Poland
9. Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
Targets: The development of AI commons is closely related to SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure) as it consider alternative ways to promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization, foster innovation, and support the development of resilient and accessible AI infrastructure. AI commons, which refers to the collective resources, knowledge, and tools related to AI that are openly accessible and shared, enables wider participation in AI development and deployment. This democratization of AI resources can spur innovation across industries, especially in developing nations, by lowering barriers to entry and facilitating knowledge sharing. Moreover, AI commons can contribute to building sustainable and resilient infrastructure by providing AI-powered solutions for optimizing resource management, enhancing efficiency, and addressing critical challenges in areas such as energy, transportation, and urban planning. By making AI more accessible and collaborative, AI commons aligns with SDG 9's objectives of promoting inclusive industrialization, driving innovation, and supporting sustainable infrastructure development.
Roundtable
Roundtable
The Internet Commons Forum (ICF) has been jointly organised by CTS-FGV, APC, and Free2Air, since 2019. The ICF aims at gathering thinkers and doers that are developing ideas and solutions for a less concentrated and more just Internet. See http://www.intcomforum.org/ The Internet Commons Forum 2024 will explore the AI Commons paradigm. The concept of the AI Commons represents a shared space where resources, knowledge, and tools related to artificial intelligence (AI) are accessible to and usable by all stakeholders. This session will delve into existing initiatives, policies, and implementation strategies aimed at fostering collaboration, innovation, and equitable access in the AI ecosystem. The debate will have four components. First, panellists will explore the concept of AI Commons, analysing what constitutes the AI Commons, and why is it instrumental for the advancement of AI technologies. Second, they will showcase exemplary initiatives, from open-source AI libraries to collaborative research projects, embodying the principles of the AI Commons, discussing their objectives, impact, and lessons learned in building and sustaining collaborative AI ecosystems. Third, they will discuss the extent to which existing policy frameworks and governance models can foster effective implementation of the AI Commons. Despite its potential benefits, establishing and maintaining the AI Commons presents various challenges, including issues related to data governance, intellectual property rights, and interoperability. These dimensions are addressed by multiple legal framework and panellists will debate the extent to which such frameworks may facilitate or hinder the emergence of AI commons. Lastly, panellists will discuss the how to foster active engagement from diverse stakeholders, including researchers, policymakers, industry leaders, and civil society organizations, to build AI Commons requires. Panellists will discuss strategies for fostering inclusive participation, promoting knowledge sharing, and empowering communities to contribute to the AI Commons.
To facilitate interaction between onsite and online speakers and attendees, we will leverage a hybrid event platform that provides real-time communication channels. For the onsite attendees, we will project the virtual attendees and their questions/comments onto the screen to ensure that both groups can engage with each other. To participate you can use the hashtags #ICF2024 and #AIcommons on social media. The session will be designed with both online and onsite participants in mind. The session will be structured with interactive segments to engage all attendees, such as Q&As and debates to cater both online and onsite participants.
Report
The concept of the AI commons can be seen as the governance framework allowing the shared pool of AI-related resources, including data, algorithms, and computational power, which are critical for advancing AI
Without cooperative governance, competing entities may (over)exploit these shared resources for short-term gains, leading to collective harm—what is referred to as the "tragedy of the commons." This analogy becomes particularly urgent in the context of generative AI
We should encourage the development of AI commons focusing on an open, decentralized and people-centered approach to AI
Building AI commons is possible but we should consider the risk related to enormous economic interest that might oppose the development AI commons