Technology and Human Rights Due Diligence at the UN | IGF 2023 Open Forum #163

Knowledge Graph of Debate

Session report

Amalia M. Toledo-Hernández

The Wikimedia Foundation is a crucial supporter of Wikipedia and other digital projects focused on providing free knowledge to all. They accomplish this through the provision of technical infrastructure and support from volunteers. Wikimedia project content is available under Creative Commons open licenses, enabling widespread access and reuse.

Access to digital public spaces and knowledge repositories is increasingly important for active participation in public life and reducing inequalities. Unfortunately, there is insufficient investment in both technical infrastructure and the fields that produce and organize knowledge, including journalism, academia, cultural heritage institutions, and libraries. An urgent need exists for support in these areas, alongside the implementation of legal structures and free licensing.

Barriers to accessing digital public spaces exacerbate existing inequalities, making it crucial to address and promote social welfare and equity through knowledge access and sharing.

Regrettably, there is a trend of investing in proprietary technology rather than digital public infrastructure. This prioritization restricts access to critical knowledge and hampers the development of digital public spaces. The narrative around digital transformation often prioritizes electioneering over empowering people, necessitating increased investment in digital infrastructure for equal knowledge access.

Cultural institutions face sustainability challenges due to budget cuts caused by the pandemic. This situation severely limits their ability to digitize and make knowledge accessible to wider audiences.

Regulatory trends favor commercialized models, neglecting decentralized and community-led platforms like Wikimedia. Such platforms are valuable and should be protected to ensure their growth and impact.

Regulatory proposals should enable online participation and collective knowledge creation. Failure to promote online participation undermines the potential contributions of individuals and communities, while the Wikimedia model demonstrates its societal benefits.

Wikipedia excels in promoting and preserving minority languages. Organized by languages, the platform fosters minority language preservation and offers educational resources. An indigenous group at the Venezuela-Colombia border uses Wikipedia to preserve and teach their language. By including minority languages online, we ensure cultural preservation and equal educational opportunities.

In summary, the Wikimedia Foundation’s support of Wikipedia and digital projects is vital for the advancement of free knowledge. Access to digital public spaces and knowledge repositories is essential for active participation and reducing inequalities. However, greater investment in technical infrastructure and knowledge production is needed. Regulatory trends often overlook community-led models, posing challenges to platforms like Wikimedia. Regulatory proposals should facilitate online participation and collective knowledge creation. Wikipedia’s inclusive platform provides a valuable space for preserving minority languages and offering educational opportunities.

Tomoaki Watanabe

The analysis of the statements reveals several important points. Firstly, there is a difficulty in distinguishing between machine-generated and human-created resources such as texts, music, and videos. This poses challenges for copyright and public domain materials. The issue extends to outputs from generative AI systems, including texts, music, sound clips, images, and videos. Even future technology like 3D scans of object shapes may become confusing in terms of determining their origin.

Tomoaki Watanabe favours the development of a system or practice to distinguish between machine-generated, public domain content and human-created, copyrighted content. The absence of such a system could lead to missed opportunities in terms of utilising public domain resources. Watanabe believes that having a convenience system in place would allow for proper utilisation of these resources.

There are also concerns about improper usage of creative commons licenses in the digital archives sector, leading to real-world risks. Many institutions around the world are improperly using creative commons licenses, affecting the digital reproduction of public domain works. This unjustified usage not only poses theoretical risks but also has concrete consequences.

On the other hand, improving motivation in museums and similar institutions is seen as positive. Museums desire recognition or returns for their investment in digitising paintings and other content. Implementing standardized signaling systems for recognition can enhance motivation and ease of use, thereby benefiting the institutions.

While there is a need for recognition and benefits for contributors, it is stated that new legal rights may not be necessary. Museums have introduced restrictions without legal force due to the lack of laws addressing the digitization of public domain works. Instead of legal rights, the implementation of a system that acknowledges contributors and their desired rewards can motivate the enrichment and expansion of knowledge commons.

The existence of AI-generated materials presents both a crisis and potentiality. Uncertainty regarding AI-generated and human-created content can lead to a crisis. However, a rationalized approach to AI-generated outputs can facilitate the expansion of knowledge commons, presenting opportunities for innovation and progress.

Watanabe expresses an interest in learning more about indigenous issues. Additionally, he recognizes the desire of communities to share their indigenous knowledge or traditional knowledge resources globally. This observation aligns with SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities and SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions, highlighting the importance of respecting and valuing indigenous knowledge.

However, Watanabe does not entirely support the current individualistic approach based on intellectual property rights to govern the knowledge. This suggests a need for a more inclusive and culturally sensitive approach that respects the indigenous populations’ way of handling their knowledge.

In conclusion, the analysis highlights the challenges in distinguishing between machine-generated and human-created resources, the need for a system to differentiate copyrighted and public domain materials, concerns about improper usage of creative commons licenses, the importance of motivation in museums, the debate on legal rights versus recognition for contributors, the opportunities and crises presented by AI-generated materials, the importance of respecting indigenous knowledge, and the need for a more inclusive and respectful approach.

Moderator

The discussion centres around the importance of digital public goods, particularly Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects, in contributing to the development of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These projects are viewed as open resources that provide free access to knowledge and information. Wikipedia, in particular, is described as an open encyclopedia that freely shares knowledge. Content on Wikimedia projects is created under a Creative Commons open licence, allowing for access, reuse, and remixing. The collaborative nature of Wikipedia is commended for its ability to gather accurate information from contributors across different borders.

In addition, the need for a secure and robust public information infrastructure to support these valuable resources is emphasised. It is argued that infrastructure support goes beyond technological aspects and includes legal structures and open and free licensing of various types of information. The production and organisation of knowledge require support from multiple fields such as journalism, academia, cultural heritage institutions, and libraries. Therefore, it is argued that a secure and robust public information infrastructure is essential for the sustainability of digital public goods.

The discussion also highlights the sustainability crisis faced by institutions responsible for creating and organising knowledge. These institutions, especially in the Latin American region, have experienced budget cuts, lack of resources, and insufficient funding. This crisis is attributed to limited availability of resources and financial support necessary for digitising their works. To address this issue, public support and investment are suggested to ensure the sustainability of these institutions and their contributions to collective knowledge.

The regulatory landscape is another aspect of the discussion, focusing on Wikimedia projects and the failure of regulatory proposals to consider the decentralised and community-driven nature of these projects. Instead, regulations tend to target centralised and commercialised models, disregarding the importance of public participation. The effectiveness of the Wikimedia model over the past 20 years is emphasised, suggesting that regulatory trends should acknowledge the positive contributions of Wikimedia projects.

The impact of technology and the internet on the knowledge commons is also explored. Concerns arise regarding the risks associated with AI-generated content, including the difficulty of distinguishing between human and AI-generated content. These risks are particularly relevant in maintaining the integrity and veracity of online information. Copyright is highlighted as a potential barrier and a blunt instrument that often incentivises people to monetise and extract revenues, which may not align with the motivation for knowledge creation.

Furthermore, the discussion delves into the need to address inequalities in accessing knowledge commons. Undeveloped countries, especially in the global South, do not fully benefit from the knowledge commons. The global distribution of technology does not correspond with an equitable distribution of knowledge, and indigenous knowledge systems are not adequately represented or protected. To address these issues, international regulations and inclusive education are proposed as potential solutions.

The importance of education is also emphasised, particularly in the context of technology. The United Nations (UN) is suggested as an initiator of global educational initiatives that focus on soft skills and include stakeholders. Education is seen as crucial to enable individuals to effectively use new technology. Additionally, it is acknowledged that the current development of technology primarily rests in the hands of western-based stakeholders, underscoring the need for an inclusive and comprehensive approach to education.

Another significant aspect of the discussion is the preservation and promotion of minority languages. Wikipedia’s language organisation is commended for allowing minority languages to thrive and preserve their linguistic heritage. Collaboration between indigenous communities and educational institutions, such as the Ministry of Education in Colombia, is applauded for working on educational resources in indigenous languages through Wikimedia projects.

In conclusion, this discussion highlights the invaluable contribution of digital public goods, particularly Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects, to the achievement of SDGs. The need for a secure and robust public information infrastructure, sustainable funding for institutions creating and organising knowledge, inclusive regulations, education for inclusiveness, and preservation of minority languages are all crucial elements in realising the potential of digital public goods. Investment in infrastructure is considered critical to avoiding free-riding and achieving long-term sustainability. Moreover, the regulation of the internet, as well as the use of AI-generated content, should be approached with care to maintain integrity and protect the knowledge commons.

Ayalew Shebeshi

The three statements provided express concerns about the United Nations’ (UN) current activities, which they argue are primarily based on the rules and regulations of developed nations. They believe these rules are highly structured and call for a shift towards incorporating soft skills in the planning and regulation of knowledge commons.

The advancement of technologies like AI, blockchain, and IoT has generated a vast amount of data and information, leading to the belief that knowledge is wealth. However, the speakers argue that the current regulatory tendencies of the UN are not keeping pace with technological advancements and evolving knowledge.

To address these concerns, the speakers propose establishing common international regulations developed with the participation and agreement of all UN members, emphasizing the need for inclusivity. They suggest moving away from a predominantly structured approach and incorporating softer skills such as negotiation, collaboration, and cultural understanding.

Additionally, the speakers advocate for education initiatives by the UN that reach every part of the globe. They stress the importance of educating stakeholders worldwide, particularly in underdeveloped countries and the Global South. They argue that while technology is becoming ubiquitous, education should strive to reduce inequalities and bridge the digital divide.

In summary, the speakers call for a change in the UN’s current activities, aiming to address limitations imposed by existing rules and structures influenced by developed nations. They propose incorporating soft skills, promoting inclusivity in international regulations, and prioritizing global education initiatives to better regulate knowledge commons and reduce inequalities on a global scale.

Speakers