AI Community of Practice Discussion Paper

Core Considerations for Exploring AI Systems as Digital Public Goods

The speed of recent innovation can be accredited to the open accessibility of research, data, and models. With the remarkable advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, there arises an urgent responsibility to ensure their beneficial impact on society and facilitate equitable access to AI systems. In this regard, open AI systems holds tremendous potential as a potent force for good, especially within the context of international development.

Recognising the timeliness of addressing these crucial issues, the Digital Public Goods Alliance and UNICEF have joined forces to form a community of practice that brings together experts from diverse sectors and geographies. Together, they aim to explore the intersection of AI and open source, and their efforts will inform essential changes to the Digital Public Good (DPG) Standard, which plays a pivotal role in determining what constitutes AI systems as digital public goods.

This community of practice has just released a discussion paper that provides insight into the initial progress they’ve made in addressing the complex considerations associated with AI development, its democratisation (i.e open-sourcing underlying data and models), and identifying strategies for how responsible open-source AI systems can be digital public goods. The discussion paper also establishes the frameworks of understanding the community of practice will work within, and what it will strive to achieve.