IGF 2025 Open Forum #64 Local AI: Policy Pathways for sustainable digital economies

What kind of AI ecosystem powers small-is-beautiful digital economies? This is the core question that the proposed session will examine. As the Global Digital Compact underscores, there is an urgent imperative for digital cooperation that harnesses the power of local AI innovation for the benefit of humanity. Evidence increasingly points to the importance of contextually-grounded local AI innovation trajectories for a just and sustainable digital transition. UNCTAD, as the Secretariat of the UN CSTD, will play a critical role in addressing this global digital cooperation challenge – particularly in facilitating the emergence of an integrated data and AI governance roadmap for development towards this. Session Description I. A brief presentation from IT for Change (co-organiser) (8 to 10 minutes in total) to tease out the contours of the concept of Local AI and the different entry points in the debate: • Compute power choices that are sustainable and not energy-intensive • Data governance choices that prioritise equitable value creation and collective stewardship of the knowledge commons • Coding/algorithmic choices that promote epistemic justice / decolonisation of knowledge • Macro-economic AI development roadmaps that support economic diversity, including social and solidarity economy enterprises • Reform of global trade, taxation, and IP regimes to break-up digital monopolies in AI value chains • Flourishing futures of workers in the local economy II. Expert inputs - Following this segment, there will be 3 rounds of expert inputs on the following dimensions of the issue: Round 1. Opportunity for Local AI innovation (15 minutes) Lead presentation - Renata Avila, Open Knowledge Foundation, civil society, LATAM Respondents - one speaker each from the technical community and private sector Round 2. Challenges that impede Local AI innovation (15 minutes) Lead presentation - Daniel Uribe, Lead Programme Officer of the Sustainable Development and Climate Change (SDCC) Programme of the South Centre, Intergovernmental organisation Respondents - one speaker each from the academic community and government Round 3. Out-of-the-box policy pathways that can promote local AI innovation (15 minutes) Lead presentation - Representative from UNCTAD Respondents - one speaker each from civil society and government Final segment - Open discussion (35 minutes)

Slido and Jamboard tools will be used throughout the session to enable effective hybrid interaction to the views raised and make the open discussion segment seamless for remote participants.