Participatory AI Research and Practice Symposium

Ahead of the AI Action Summit, Sciences Po welcomed the Participative AI Research Symposium (PAIRS) on Saturday 8 February, an event organized by the Tech & Global Affairs Innovation Hub and Connected by Data. More than 250 academics, civil society leaders, and activists convened at Sciences Po; a further 100 participants joined remotely. The Symposium enabled participants to share research, case studies, and best practices on participative approaches to AI development and on collaborative governance and bottom-up collective action to empower citizens.

The first half of the Symposium involved experts delivering a series of plenary presentations on topics spanning from AI grounded in local knowledge in Namibia, to consultative processes on public algorithmic systems in Brazil. 

Subsequently, participants had the opportunity to engage in workshops organized around three tracks:

• Participatory AI development
• Participatory AI governance
• Participation, power and resistance

Each workshop included the presentation of one of thirty case studies amplifying voices from the Global South which were selected by an international Programme Committee. As a result, the workshops promoted good practices of adaptable methods that enhance civil society participation in shaping the development and deployment of AI systems at both local and transnational level. 

The PAIRS event shone a spotlight on how civil society organizations can balance private interests, promote fair and responsible AI systems, and act as catalysts for citizen education and democratic empowerment. The full program and abstracts are available online: https://pairs25.notion.site/Agenda-8th-Feb-17a260e24e1a8092b9e4ebe332807534

More information on the event and other Tech & Global Affairs Innovation Hub activities can be found on the website: https://www.sciencespo.fr/psia-innovation-hub/

More information about PSIA's academic offer on Technology and Global Affairs: the Master in Technology and Global Affairs and the Dual Degree in Technology and Global Affairs