UN Panel Discusses AI, Intellectual Property, and Equity in Global Digital Commons

On July 16, 2025, the United Nations Dag Hammarskjöld Library held a virtual panel titled “Reclaiming the Commons: AI, Intellectual Property, and Global Equity.” This event was organized as a side session to the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF).

The panel convened experts to discuss the rapid transformation brought about by artificial intelligence (AI) in research and society, emphasizing the urgent questions of equity, access, and accountability that arise alongside these technological advances.

Central to the discussion was the Global Digital Compact’s recognition of digital public goods, including open AI models, as vital pathways toward fostering more inclusive innovation globally.

Panelists explored what it would mean to operationalize AI within an open framework grounded in human rights principles. This approach calls for rethinking existing intellectual property regimes to better serve the public good rather than solely proprietary interests.

The conversation highlighted how the principles of open science—such as openness, attribution, transparency, reciprocity, and collective benefit—can guide the development, deployment, and governance of AI systems.

Experts examined the tensions between proprietary AI models and open approaches, focusing on how intellectual property frameworks can both enable and constrain equitable participation in AI innovation.

The panel also addressed the critical challenge of ensuring the right to participate in and benefit from AI technologies without reinforcing existing inequalities or exacerbating power imbalances within the scientific community.

This dialogue reflects ongoing global efforts to balance innovation incentives with equitable access, aiming to reclaim the digital commons for the benefit of all stakeholders worldwide.