AI Localism Repository: A Tool for Local AI Governance

Curated on Posted on by Stefaan Verhulst

About: “In a world where AI continues to be ever more entangled with our communities, cities, and decision-making processes, local governments are stepping up to address the challenges of AI governance. Today, we’re excited to announce the launch of the newly updated AI Localism Repository—a curated resource designed to help local governments, researchers, and citizens understand how AI is being governed at the state, city, or community level.

What is AI Localism?

AI Localism refers to the actions taken by local decision-makers to address AI governance in their communities. Unlike national or global policies, AI Localism offers immediate solutions tailored to specific local conditions, creating opportunities for greater effectiveness and accountability in the governance of AI.

What’s the AI Localism Repository?

The AI Localism Repository is a collection of examples of AI governance measures from around the world, focusing on how local governments are navigating the evolving landscape of AI. This resource is more than just a list of laws—it highlights innovative methods of AI governance, from the creation of expert advisory groups to the implementation of AI pilot programs.

Why AI Localism Matters

Local governments often face unique challenges in regulating AI, from ethical considerations to the social impact of AI in areas like law enforcement, housing, and employment. Yet, local initiatives are frequently overlooked by national and global AI policy observatories. The AI Localism Repository fills this gap, offering a platform for local policymakers to share their experiences and learn from one another…(More)”

Governing AI for Humanity

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The United Nations Secretary-General’s High-level Advisory Body on AI’s Final Report: “This report outlines a blueprint for addressing AI-related risks and sharing its transformative potential globally, including by:​

  • ​Urging the UN to lay the foundations of the first globally inclusive and distributed architecture for AI governance based on international cooperation;​
  • Proposing seven recommendations to address gaps in current AI governance arrangements;​
  • Calling on all governments and stakeholders to work together in governing AI to foster development and protection of all human rights.​

​This includes light institutional mechanisms to complement existing efforts and foster inclusive global AI governance arrangements that are agile, adaptive and effective to keep pace with AI’s evolution.​..(More)”.

Guidelines for Participatory and Inclusive AI

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Guidelines by the Partnership on AI’s Global Task Force for Inclusive AI: “..The objective is to help practitioners navigate the common challenges that arise in the process of stakeholder engagement to ensure their efforts remain authentic and as equity-oriented as possible. The resource aims to support individuals’ efforts in aligning their work with the needs of the communities they wish to serve, while reducing the likelihood of harms and risks those communities may face due to the development and deployment of AI technologies.

The Guidelines are separated into three major parts:

  • Guidance & Guardrails Recommended best practices and guardrails for participatory stakeholder engagement strategies, including specific recommendations by common use cases for engaging with stakeholders as part of the AI development process
  • Emerging Resources: AI Tools for Participatory and Inclusive AI Overview of the latest AI-enabled tools proposed to support stakeholder engagement activities, including a discussion of their potential applications and risks
  • Additional Background Details about why we created this resource, the people who provided their expertise for the initial draft, and foundational concepts that serve as the basis for the Global Task Force’s recommendations and guidance…(More)”.

New Data Browser on education, science, and culture

Curated on Posted on by Stefaan Verhulst

UNESCO: “The UIS is excited to introduce the new UIS Data Browser, which brings together all our data on education, science, and culture, making it a convenient resource for everyone, from policymakers to researchers.

With a refreshed interface, users can easily view and download customized data for their needs. The new browser also offers better tools for exploring metadata and documentation. Plus, the browser has great visualization features. You can filter indicators by country or region and create line or bar charts to see trends over time. It’s easy to share your findings on social media, too!

For those who like to dive deeper, a web-based UIS Data Application Programming Interface (API) allows for more technical data extraction for use in reports and applications. The UIS Data API provides access to all education, science, and culture data available on the UIS data browser through HTTP requests. It allows for the regular retrieval of data for custom analysis, visualizations, and applications…(More)”.

Global Citizen Deliberation on Artificial Intelligence

Curated on Posted on by Stefaan Verhulst

Report by Connected by Data: “This report explores how global citizen deliberation, particularly drawing on the concept of a global citizens’ assembly, could and should shape the future of artificial intelligence. Drawing on an extended design lab of in-depth interviews and workshops that took place in mid-2024, it presents a series of options for bringing the voices of those affected by AI development and deployment into decision-making spaces, through processes that can deliver informed and inclusive dialogue… In this report we address how established and emerging sites of global AI development and governance can integrate citizen deliberation, setting out five template options for citizens’ assemblies on AI: deliberative review of AI summits and scientific reports; an independent global assembly on AI; a series of distributed dialogues organized across the globe; a technology-enabled collective intelligence process; and commissioning the inclusion of AI topics in other deliberative processes…(More)”.

Trust in official statistics remains high but there’s still work to do

Curated on Posted on by Stefaan Verhulst

Article by Ian Diamond (UK): “..I’m excited about the potential of new data sources, and I want everyone in the UK to have the skills to understand and use the stats they allow us to create. With this in mind, we’re launching a whole host of new projects to bring our stats to the people:

How to videos

To benefit from stats, and be confident that they are reliable, we need to understand more about the data they have been derived from and how to read and use them.

Our new set of video guides are a great place to start, covering topics such as why data matters to how the ONS de-identifies them and where we get them from.

They are all available to watch on our YouTube channel.

Playground survey

During the 2023/2024 school year, we teamed up with the BBC and the Micro:bit Foundation to give children in primary schools the opportunity to take part in a nationwide playground survey.

The BBC Micro:bit Playground Survey is a wonderful way for children to learn data skills at an early age, getting to grips with data collection and analysis in a way that is relevant to their everyday lives, in a familiar and fun setting.

If children become data-literate now, they will be well prepared to navigate and take advantage of the huge amounts of data that will no doubt play an important role in their adult lives.

Keep an eye out for the results in October.

Navigating numbers – the ONS data education programme

We’ve also been busy developing a data education programme for students in further education or sixth form.

Navigating numbers: how data are used to create statistics includes a series of five classroom toolkits, exploring topics such as gender pay gaps, inflation, and health.

Created with the support of the Association of Colleges (AoC), this learning resource is free for teachers to use and available for download on the ONS website.

The ONS’s educational webinar series: Bringing data to life

If you want to learn more about measuring the cost of living or our nation’s health, then our new webinar series has you covered. These and other topics will be brought to life in this new series of online events, launching in September 2024…(More)”

Reviving the commons: A scoping review of urban and digital commoning

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Report by James Henderson and Oliver Escobar: “The review aims to contribute to the growing discourse on the commons, highlighting its significance in contemporary societies and its potential as an alternative to traditional forms of socioeconomic and political organisation via the state and/or the market. Practitioners in the field argue that we are witnessing a revival of the commons in the 21st century. This report interrogates the nature of that revival and explores key concepts, examples, trends and debates in theory and practice, while outlining an emerging research agenda…(More)”.

Advancing Data Equity: An Action-Oriented Framework

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WEF Report: “Automated decision-making systems based on algorithms and data are increasingly common today, with profound implications for individuals, communities and society. More than ever before, data equity is a shared responsibility that requires collective action to create data practices and systems that promote fair and just outcomes for all.

This paper, produced by members of the Global Future Council on Data Equity, proposes a data equity definition and framework for inquiry that spurs ongoing dialogue and continuous action towards implementing data equity in organizations. This framework serves as a dynamic tool for stakeholders committed to operationalizing data equity, across various sectors and regions, given the rapidly evolving data and technology landscapes…(More)”.

A blueprint for better international collaboration on evidence

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BIT Report: “…This report is focused on four countries: the U.S., the UK, Australia, and Canada and provides a series of practical ideas for investments to improve the quality and use of evidence in policy design, implementation, and evaluation. It highlights the opportunities and challenges ahead, as the demand for and supply of evidence continue to grow in a world with complex policy challenges. 

It is a call to action for governments to collaborate more closely on evidence generation and utilisation. By pooling resources and expertise, countries can bridge the existing gaps in their evidence ecosystems, ultimately leading to more informed and effective public policies. 

The main recommendation is for countries to collaborate on evidence synthesis. The most promising avenue for evidence synthesis is Living Evidence Reviews (LERs), which are systematic reviews that are continuously updated. The authors propose ‘meta’ LERs are conducted across all areas of social policy to answer the questions that really matter to policymakers…(More)”. See also: Using Living Evidence and
Visualization in the Grant Making Process

UN E-Government Survey 2024

Curated on Posted on by Stefaan Verhulst

Report by United Nations (DESA): “…provides a comprehensive assessment of the digital government landscape across all 193 Member States. The 2024 Survey highlights a significant upward trend in the development of digital government worldwide, with increased investment in resilient infrastructure and cutting-edge technologies. The global average value of the E-Government Development Index (EGDI) shows substantial improvement, with the proportion of the population lagging in digital government development decreasing from 45.0 per cent in 2022 to 22.4 per cent in 2024. Despite significant progress in digital government development, the EGDI averages for the African region, least developed countries, and small island developing States remain below the global average, underscoring the need for targeted efforts to bridge existing gaps.

At the local level, the Survey continues to assess city portals using the Local Online Services Index (LOSI). The LOSI findings reflect steady progress but also highlight persistent disparities between national and local e-government performance, pointing to the need for focused initiatives to strengthen digital government at the municipal level. This edition introduces the new Digital Government Model Framework, providing countries with a comprehensive road map for the effective planning, implementation and assessment of digital government initiatives. A short addendum explores the integration of AI in digital government development, emphasizing the importance of maximizing benefits and minimizing risks to achieve balanced governance…(More)”