Knowledge as Power in Today’s World

In May, CIGI hosted the advanced research colloquium “Knowledge as Power in Today’s World” in partnership with Harvard University’s Institute for Global Law and Policy. Faculty members from a diverse network of disciplines, including sociology, history, political science and law, met in person in Waterloo to discuss the challenges posed by rapid technological advancements and their implications for governance.

In this conference report, CIGI authors Nikolina Zivkovic, Reanne Cayenne, Kailee Hilt and President Paul Samson highlight key points that emerged from the conversations that took place during the event’s three days.

The Council of Councils Thirteenth Annual Conference took place May 19–21 in Washington, DC. Tracey Forrest of CIGI participated at the conference and prepared this background memo for the third session that took place on May 19 on the theme of geopolitics, diplomacy and artificial intelligence (AI).

Consisting of brief responses to a range of guiding questions outlined in the agenda, the memo provides the basis for a set of policy prescriptions directed toward national governments.

The Digital Policy Hub at CIGI is a collaborative space for emerging scholars and innovative thinkers from the social, natural and applied sciences. Here are the latest working papers from the winter 2024 cohort of Hub fellows:

Tyler Stevenson: “Navigating Digital Neocolonialism in Africa

Elia Rasky: “Generative AI Policy in Canadian Higher Education: A Preliminary Survey”

Ozan Ayata: “Artificial Realities: Mitigations against Deepfakes”

Ryan Westman: “Improving Canadian Digital Defences: A National Security Priority”

Follow the links on the Hub webpage to learn more about the Hub scholars and their work!

In their new paper, Mardi Witzel, Gaston H. Gonnet and Tim Snider focus on policy guidance around explainable AI.

The authors begin by examining the meaning of “explainability” and reviewing contemporary policy guidance. They then make the case for the need for greater clarity and context-specific guidance, highlighting the need to distinguish between ante hoc and post hoc explainability (especially in high-risk, high-impact contexts). Finally, they propose a taxonomy for how explainability can be operationalized in AI policy and make a series of recommendations.

“In early July, the US Supreme Court rendered its decision in a pair of cases challenging laws in Florida and Texas that prohibit social media companies from censoring content based on viewpoint.…Early responses to the Supreme Court’s decision…are so diverse as to suggest a misunderstanding of the core holding.”

Robert Diab writes that “the Supreme Court’s decision was more subtle in ways many early commentators have overlooked…giving us a glimpse of the boundaries around which future constitutional challenges to social media regulation will unfold.”