On Sovereign AI
The 2nd Annual Digital Futures Symposium, "Sovereignty and Agency in the Age of AI"
Event
The 2024 Digital Futures Symposium will bring together a diverse, global group of technologists, policy makers, scholars, and ethicists to carry out scenario-based policy research into the global impacts of the AI transition and the various legislative and policy efforts to strengthen digital sovereignty, especially in the majority world. The purpose of this work is to chart possible paths, thresholds, and policy prescriptions in the areas of AI and digital sovereignty, and to bring global perspectives into contact with US and international policy makers involved in high-level global digital governance conversations and processes.
The keynote panel, “On Sovereign AI”, will examine national approaches to AI governance, ethics, and technological capabilities, aiming to provide clarity on the evolving concept of AI sovereignty and set the foundation for collaborative and cohesive international communication and policy. The panel will be moderated by Senior Fellow Akash Kapur and feature experts Pablo Chavez from the Center for a New American Security and Susan Ariel Aaronson, Director of the Digital Trade and Data Governance Hub.
This is a public segment of the two-day, invite-only Digital Futures Symposium.
Pablo Chavez
Pablo Chavez is a technology policy expert and Adjunct Senior Fellow at CNAS, with extensive experience in public policy leadership roles at major tech companies like Google Cloud, Microsoft, and LinkedIn. He most recently served as Vice President of Global Government Affairs and Public Policy for Google Cloud, leading global efforts on issues such as digital sovereignty, cybersecurity, and AI. Previously, he was LinkedIn’s Vice President of Global Public Policy, where he founded the public policy team and focused on global content regulation and future workforce initiatives. Prior to his private sector roles, Pablo worked in public service as Senior Counsel for the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, advising on technology policy and corporate governance. He is also an advisor to several academic and policy institutions and holds degrees from Princeton and Stanford Law School.
Susan Ariel Aaronson
Susan Ariel Aaronson is a Research Professor of International Affairs at George Washington University (GWU) and a Public Interest Technology Scholar. She serves as co-principal investigator for the NSF-NIST TRAILS initiative, where she leads research on data and AI governance. Aaronson also directs the Digital Trade and Data Governance Hub at GWU, founded in 2019, which educates policymakers, the press, and the public on data governance and data-driven change through various events and publications. The Hub’s work, funded by foundations like Ford and Minderoo, is unique in mapping data governance across public, proprietary, and personal data at both domestic and international levels. Aaronson’s current research focuses on governance for generative AI and the need for globally accurate, complete, and representative data. A seasoned commentator, she writes op-eds for Barron’s and Fortune and has appeared on NPR, NBC, CNN, BBC, and PBS.