Who Gets a Say in AI? Taking Public Voice from Community Dialogue to Global Governance

Around the world, communities are already experimenting with ways to involve the public in conversations about AI. The Citizens' Track on AI has mapped more than 80 public engagement initiatives globally and is working to connect grassroots dialogue with international processes such as the UN Global Dialogue on AI Governance (UNGDAI). The challenge is not simply getting more people into the conversation. Public participation only matters if there is a credible pathway between what communities say and where decisions are actually made. How should a conversation in a neighborhood, city, or community connect to national policy or global governance? How do we ensure participation reaches beyond the people who already understand AI policy? What makes a dialogue meaningful rather than extractive? And what would make policymakers take its findings seriously? The Citizens' Track on AI is now developing a practical toolkit to help communities around the world convene their own dialogues on the future of AI. This Sidebar session will become part of that design process. Participants will help explore what communities need to have useful conversations about AI, how those conversations should be structured, whose voices are most important to include, and how insights generated locally can travel upward into institutions and global decision-making. The ambition is to make public participation in AI governance something that can happen across many different communities and contexts, without losing the connection between grassroots voice and global power. What to expect A participatory working session beginning with a small number of short provocations from people working on public participation, AI governance, and citizens' assemblies before moving quickly into small-group work. Participants will tackle two practical challenges: how do we support meaningful grassroots conversations about AI, and how do we make those conversations matter to global decision-makers? Groups will draw on their own experience to identify what a useful community dialogue toolkit should contain, where existing participation models succeed or fail, and what partnerships could connect local conversations to wider governance processes. The session will close by bringing those ideas together and identifying potential collaborators for the next stage of the Citizens' Track on AI. Who this is for This session is for civil society organizations, governments, AI governance practitioners, public participation experts, community organizers, researchers, funders, technology companies, and others interested in ensuring that decisions about AI are shaped by a much wider range of people than those currently inside the institutions making them. What you will get out of it A clearer understanding of how public participation can contribute to AI governance Lessons from existing public engagement initiatives around the world A chance to shape a practical toolkit for grassroots community dialogue on AI Practical thinking about how community-generated perspectives can influence national and global decision-making Connections with potential partners working to strengthen public voice in the future of AI Hosted by Citizens' Track on AI