Curated Panel (Auditorium): Impact of AI on the Public Commons (Auditorium)

Panel: Impact of AI on the Public Commons

Panelists:

• Liam Wyatt –  Senior Manager of Technology Partnerships at the Wikimedia Foundation
• Nil Homedes – Director at Decidim
• Luca Cominassi – External Consultant, Barcelona Supercomputing Center

• Dr. Joan Masó – Principal investigator of CREAF

Chair: Stina Heikkila – Project Coordinator – Citizen Science, Eurocities

Panel Abstract:

AI is reshaping how societies manage shared resources — from data and public infrastructure to knowledge itself. This has vast impacts on public commons, including digital commons, where open data and knowledge sharing are central. This panel will explore the frameworks and governance layers needed for existing commons projects to deal with both the opportunities and threats involved in the expansion of AI. It will explore how Public AI and (European) Common Data Spaces can be useful “allies” for maintaining values related to the commons while contributing to AI models that contribute to public goods. 

Questions: 

1. What is your vision for how AI can enhance the public commons and vice-versa? 
2. How can we prevent data from public commons being used by extractive systems that are misaligned with public values, or fail to give back to the owners of the data? 
3. What type of governance mechanisms are “needed” (contributions from different points of view)? 
4. What opportunities does AI offer for public commons?