The Role of Open Data in AI systems as Digital Public Goods

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2024-10-31 01:30:03

Over the last few years, there has been a surge in interest and adoption of generative artificial intelligence systems, and a corresponding interest in clarifying and delineating what open source should mean for AI and how to ensure AI serves the public interest. The DPGA Secretariat has been an active part of these conversations. Recognizing the transformative potential of AI, we have explored ways to democratise its benefits, advocating for public spending on AI that prioritises public interest and equitable access. Additionally, we have been examining how the DPG Standard may need to adapt in order to better determine what constitutes AI systems as a type of digital public good, via a community of practice (CoP), co-hosted by UNICEF.

This work has been unfolding against a backdrop of other initiatives and organisations similarly addressing complex questions surrounding the future development and use of artificial intelligence in the public interest domain. One such particularly important initiative has been the work to define open source AI stewarded by the Open Source Initiative (OSI) with the involvement of a large number of stakeholders and experts. After a two year long process the Open Source AI Definition (OSAID) Version 1.0 was released on October 28. 

The process OSI undertook, in the words of Mozilla, “is a significant step toward bringing clarity and rigour to the open source AI discussion” and “has established a crucial reference point for discussions on open source AI”. Mozilla also notes that several complex issues have been brought to the forefront, particularly around whether and how training data for AI models should be shared as part of open source AI. 

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