- Date
-
4:30 pm—4:50 pm · June 10, 2025
- Room
- Herten Aas / Livestreamed
As AI systems become fundamental to civic participation, their concentration in the hands of a few tech giants poses critical challenges to digital sovereignty and civic empowerment.
Public AI could serve as a democratic counterweight to commercial AI systems, enabling civic tech organisations to maintain independence while harnessing AI's potential.
Hear of strategies for developing Public AI alternatives that prioritise democratic values over commercial interests. Key areas include:
- how AI monopolies currently constrain broad access and reinforce infrastructure dependencies
- concrete examples of public infrastructure; components that could reduce dependency on commercial AI systems, from open training data to shared computing resources;
- governance models that ensure public AI systems remain accountable to communities rather than shareholders;
- strategies for building sustainable, purpose-driven AI systems that serve the common good.
Also hear of successful cases where public digital infrastructure has effectively counterbalanced commercial AI systems, with an examination of how principles such as transparency, accountability, and community ownership can guide the development of alternatives to commercial AI systems ensuring that artificial intelligence serves as a tool for civic empowerment rather than market concentration.
This session directly addresses how civic tech can maintain its independence and democratic values in an AI-driven world.