Centre for Internet and Society

Meeting of the Network of Internet & Society Centers

praskrishna — 2012-12-11T10:18:41Z

The Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University together with the Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet & Society in Berlin, in collaboration with the Centre for Internet and Society Bangalore, the Center for Technology & Society at the Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV) Law School, KEIO University SFC, the MIT Media Lab, the MIT Center for Civic Media, and the NEXA Center for Internet & Society, will host a highly interactive and participatory meeting of representatives from these and other research centers focused on Internet and society issues.

Taking place on December 6-8 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, this gathering will serve as the inaugural event for a nascent global network and create an opportunity for participants to scope and identify mechanisms for collaboration, research, and informal coordination.

Theme

Internet-driven Developments: Structural Changes and Tipping Points As a starting point, the December meeting will focus on the theme of “Internet-driven Developments: Structural Changes and Tipping Points,” provoking both substantive questions to facilitate ideas for collaboration, as well as process-oriented questions regarding the structure, governance, and composition of the network of centers. This topic is intended to provide a conceptual lens for the meeting itself, and to enable myriad connections to the diverse research areas and interests of the participating organizations; however, it is not meant to frame the thematic areas of the network writ large. Rather, we hope that the theme stimulates conversations about future areas of collaboration within and beyond the topic areas outlined in this concept note.

With this goal in mind and building upon the research interests of the participants, the two proposed overarching “horizontal” questions of the meeting are:

What are the structural changes (as opposed to hype, fashion, spikes, etc.), from societal, economic, legal, and educational perspectives, promoted by the Internet and related technological advancements? What do we know about these tectonic shifts and where are knowledge gaps? How do these shifts compare to earlier changes facilitated by new technologies? What further changes do we anticipate?
2 What are the forces and tipping points that have catalyzed these structural changes— including the actions of individuals (such as users, citizens, and individual activists) and institutions (such as government, business, and civil society)? Where do we currently see or anticipate tipping points? As a research community that seeks to inform advocacy efforts, policymaking, civic discourse, and other societal interests, how can these concepts inform or drive our activities?

We hope to discuss these guiding (“horizontal”) questions in the context of exploring two areas of research or use cases (“verticals”), which might inspire future activities of the network itself as well as collaboration among participants:

Political participation: Various research efforts over the past decade have focused on the question of if and how the Internet changes political participation, from new forms of electronic voting to the broader question of potential changes in political discourse in the digitally networked public sphere. During the meeting, we will take stock of the current landscape, with a particular focus on recent elections and political movements around the globe, and explore open questions, future research directions, questions, emerging tools and methodologies.

Production modes: Digital technologies in general and the Internet in particular have changed the ways in which goods are produced and services provided. Within this context, new modes of production — most prominently “peer-based” models — have emerged, accompanied by innovative organizational models and set-ups. Questions we hope to explore include: How relevant are these shifts from an economic, organizational, societal, business, and creative perspective? Has recent empirical research confirmed the theory of commons-based peer production, or challenged it? What conditions facilitate new modes of Internet-based production and what are the benefits and challenges from a public policy perspective? What do interesting case studies in the field, from collaborative online journalism to crowd-funding, tell us about the direction of this trend?

In a number of learning calls leading up to the meeting, we hope to further specify the proposed substantive areas, identify core issues of mutual interest for discussion, nominate speakers and rapporteurs, and learn about each other’s work in respective areas.

Key Objectives

The meeting will not only focus on substantive issues within the proposed themes, but also seek to provide a foundation for discussions regarding structural and process-oriented objectives for the network.

Substantive goals include: based on the proposed themes and topics, becoming familiar with each other’s work; facilitating the exchange of information regarding current and future projects, research areas, and innovative methods; identifying connection points, concrete ideas for initial and continued institutional collaborations on projects, and tools to support sustained and future efforts; and building a shared vocabulary and structure for collaboration among Internet & society centers, including existing and potential actors in the Global South.

Structural/process-oriented objectives include: defining the scope and core DNA of the network; exploring initial structures for governance, shared research, exchange programs, and mechanisms for collaboration; and identifying tools and practices for communication among teams, within the network, and externally.

From Ideas to Action

Using the substantive discussion as a jumping-0ff point, we will collectively explore how to apply lessons learned from the process of conducting interdisciplinary and international research into a network that embodies those same values. What analytical frames and empirical indicators can researchers offer to better inform policy makers and citizenry? How can we make public debates more rational and informed? What are methodological and data issues we should consider in research projects? What role do we envision for advocacy and broader communication for greater societal impact? How do these discussions inform and scope the potential areas of activity of the network? Through what specific mechanisms, such as research, tool development, convenings, or teaching, will Centers address these challenges? Invited colleagues, collaborators, and guests will provoke discussions and pose questions that challenge current assumptions and encourage experimentation.

Mode of Engagement

We are committed to leveraging the tremendous diversity of the participants to develop novel understandings — and approaches to reaching them — by actively embracing differences in geography, discipline, organizational approach, culture and context, among many other facets. Not only must we consciously address the more straightforward challenges of translation (language and discipline), but we must proactively develop ways to meaningfully and efficiently engage the deeper divisions we identify among us. Allowing differences to become splits would be unfortunate, but more importantly, it is at precisely these gaps where new perspectives are possible, and great gains are within reach.

Fulfilling this commitment will be a real challenge because it requires behavior change on our part. We must avoid or explain terms of art, make explicit and explore our assumptions, explain our methods, perform necessary translations, and otherwise take steps to maximize hospitality and genuine understanding. Because this work is interactive in nature, it is essential that we are economical in our group discussion, leaving as much time for the interactions that will highlight and address gaps, rather than making extended monologues that risk losing other participants and sacrifice the provocative stimuli offered by our diversity. In short, let us be clear, brief and to the point. Let us listen to each other closely and encourage new voices, rather than inadvertently privileging only a few dominant ones. Let us be aware that participants will have different styles of engagement, and that we need to collectively find ways to embrace them, even as they adapt to this special environment. Above all, let us have enjoy this rare opportunity to gather and engage on issues we care about with this unique group of colleagues.

Draft Agenda

Thursday, December 6
9:30-1:00 pm (Optional) Cyberscholars Forum For those meeting participants who arrive in Cambridge early, we welcome them to attend a half day meeting of the Cyberscholars Working Group, which includes fellows from the Berkman Center for Internet & Society, Yale Information Society Project, MIT Media Lab / Center for Civic Media, and other institutions.
3:00 Opening Exercise: Mapping Collaboration The opening session of the symposium on “Structural Changes and Tipping Points” will include participants of the Cyberscholars forum, and will highlight the landscape of existing collaborations among researchers, as well as generate ideas for new modes and methods for collaboration to be considered over the course of the meeting. This early convening will allow the opportunity for representatives to bring the unique strengths of their institutions to the table and consider ways we can take advantage of coordinated efforts.
5:30 Opening Session Structural Change: Understanding Structural Changes, Tipping Points, and their Effects on Systems Historical examples of significant structural change, and the events and conditions leading up to those dramatic shifts, will offer a lens for the meeting where societal advancements catalyzed by technological innovation can be analyzed and understood. As digital technologies increasingly intersect with and support institutions, industries, and individuals, what cautionary tales does history reveal regarding how to study and engage important tipping points? What lessons from history will enable societal development? And what structures are currently changing or are ripe for change (and research) in the next decade?
6:45 Joint Reception with Cyberscholars Participants The reception will include displays from the Harvard metaLAb and the Harvard Library community.
Friday, December 7
8:30 am Breakfast
9:00 Welcome
9:15 Foundations: Key Ingredients for Structural Change in the Digital Ecosystem: Data, Algorithms, Intermediaries This opening session will set the stage by exploring the key elements that facilitate current and the next generation of structural shifts in the digitally networked information ecosystem and discuss both drivers and inhibitors of change from social, economic, legal, and educational perspectives. Instead of providing a holistic overview of all factors that are in play, the session will focus on three particularly important elements: the power of “big data”, the importance of algorithms, and the role of new intermediaries. Beyond phenomenological stock-taking, the participants will discuss the next generation of legal, ethical, economic and other issues that arise in the context of these key elements and the need for collaboration - and potentially intervention – with regard to these and related factors of change. The discussion will help orient the relationship between structural change and associated tipping points, and will be further explored throughout the day via participant-organized breakout sessions and use case discussions.
10:15 Use Case #1 Political Participation: New Orders, Democracy, Governance, and Civic Engagement Various research efforts over the past decade have focused on the question of if and how the Internet changes political participation, from new forms of electronic voting to the broader question of potential changes in political discourse in the digitally networked public sphere. During the meeting, we will take stock of the current landscape, with a particular focus on recent elections and political movements around the globe, and explore open questions, future research directions, questions, emerging tools and methodologies. Examples we could examine, and potentially consider as “tipping points,” may range from SOPA, PIPA, and ACTA to the Arab Spring and the post-election crisis in Kenya in 2008 to many other major political events. These examples may also highlight the limits, challenges, and dangers of the new media environment.
11:15 Coffee Break
11:30 Morning Breakout Sessions & Afternoon Proposals Semi-moderated discussion sessions proposed by participants in advance of the meeting (such as sessions on Internet & democracy, research methods, region specific issues, and other projects) will take place, with an eye towards developing contributions to the final session on future directions.
Additionally, participants will brainstorm and propose sessions to lead during the unconference sessions in the afternoon, with a preference for more exploratory topics. Anyone at the meeting can suggest, lead, or participate in the discussions, and topics can range from those relevant to the substantive themes of the symposium to ideas for networking, shared research, and anything beyond.
12:30 pm Lunch
1:30pm Use Case #2 Economic and Production Modes: New Models for Innovation & Entrepreneurship Digital technologies in general and the Internet in particular have changed the ways in which goods are produced and services provided. Within this context, new modes of production — most prominently “peer-based” models — have emerged, accompanied by innovative organizational models and set-ups. Questions we hope to explore include: How relevant are these shifts from an economic, organizational, societal, business, and creative perspective? Has recent empirical research confirmed the theory of commons-based peer production, or challenged it? What conditions facilitate new modes of Internet-based production and what are the benefits and challenges from a public policy perspective? What do interesting case studies in the field, from collaborative online journalism to crowd-funding, tell us about the direction of this trend? Examples of market and industry shifts, institutional changes, and individual impact may serve as illustrations of tipping points where new models of production have fostered true innovation, and reveal paths for what to expect in the future.
2:30 Participant-Led Unconference Sessions Meeting participants who proposed sessions will lead discussions around topics related to the main theme of the symposium or around ideas related to the formation of a network of centers.
3:30 Break
4:00 Reflections and Future Directions A rapporteur from each center will offer brief reflections and key takeaways based on their experience during the meeting. A shortlist of “low hanging fruit” (i.e. things that we can immediately start to collaborate on) will be developed in advance and serve as the basis for the session, so the group can make progress towards developing a substantive agenda and initial workplan for the network at the meeting.
7:00 Reception and Party
Saturday, December 8
9:00-12pm Breakfast session: Action plan for the next year In the Food for Thought mode, representatives will meet to discuss an innovation and collaboration agenda for the inaugural year of the network. Using inputs from learning calls and the previous days of the meeting, participants will work to identify existing or new projects where researchers, faculty, and staff can immediately begin collaborating. We will also create a rough plan for addressing action items that are “low hanging fruit” for the launch of the network.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/events/meeting-of-network-of-internet-and-society-centers

7 Ways to Con/fuse the Internet with Analogy (Intergalactic Mix) - Talk by Surfatial

sneha-pp — 2018-07-02T18:33:42Z

Surfatial, a trans-local collective that works with text and sound will talk about their essay which was recently published. The talk will also address concerns on how the internet can be used in alternate contexts including presenting work in alternative formats and using the internet for synchronous collaborative cultural production.

The talk will be held at the Centre for Internet & Society's office in Bangalore on September 26 at 6.00 p.m.

Abstract

Surfatial will present their work as a trans-local collective that works with text and sound. They will talk about their essay which was recently published on the RAW blog, as well as concerns of how the internet can be used in alternate contexts. As a continuation from their essay 101 ways of Starting an ISP: No. 53- Conversation Content and Weird Fiction they are interested in exploring alternate formats of presenting the work they produce and in using the internet for synchronous collaborative cultural production.

They structure this talk as a storytelling session and will share stories of how the internet is used on other planets. Stories of the internet on seven planets will be shared. Each story will describe its specific conditions of operation. These stories are seven ways of doing so. How will an external search engine index these stories? Will they be fact or fiction? The external archive of the search engine will be ways to con/fuse the internet with our narratives.

Speakers

Surfatial is a trans-local collective that operates through the internet. They use conversations to aid learning outside established structures. They are concerned with enabling dis-inhibition through the internet, for expressing what may not be feasible in physical reality. They organise internet-based audio conferences called study-groups where they deal with philosophical questions and a self-reflective exchange of individual experiences. They have previously presented their work at Soundphile 2016, Delhi; play_book (in collaboration with Thukral & Tagra), Gurgaon; CONA, Mumbai, and Mumbai Art Room. Their upcoming engagement is with ZK/U, Berlin.

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/surfatial
Website - http://www.museumofvestigialdesire.net/offices/surfatial
Twitter - https://twitter.com/surfatial

Surfatial is Malavika Rajnarayan, Prayas Abhinav and Satya Gummuluri.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/raw/7-ways-to-con-fuse-the-internet-with-analogy-intergalactic-mix-talk-by-surfatial-september-26-6-pm

CISxScholars Delhi - William F. Stafford (Nov 03, 6:30 pm)

sumandro — 2019-03-13T00:30:39Z

We are delighted to have William F. Stafford, PhD candidate in UC Berkeley, present on "Public Measurements, Private Measurements, and the Convergence of Units" at the CIS office in Delhi on Thursday, Nov 03, at 6:30 pm. Please RSVP if you are joining us: .

CISxScholars are informal events organised by CIS for presentation, discussion, and exchange of academic research and policy analysis.

Public Measurements, Private Measurements and the Convergence of Units

In this discussion I will focus on a comparison between the standard government prescribed meters for autorickshaws and taxis and the role of ridesharing apps as instruments which take measurements, as the basis for the calculation of fares, and the more general questions which arise for commerce, technology and their regulation. I will organise the paper around the observations of a paratransit operations engineer on the distinction between public and private instruments, and explore the possible implications of new forms of commercialisation of location and proximity and reactions to such developments for understanding questions of fairness and corruption.

William F. Stafford

William F. Stafford, Jr., is a PhD candidate in the Department of Anthropology, UC Berkeley. William's research focuses on the auto-rickshaw meter in New Delhi, as a way to engage with classical questions concerning the relationship between measurement, quantification and delimitations of domains of labour. William's general interests concern the analytics of labour and the reconfiguration of what are often taken as its axiomatic aspects. Before joining Berkeley, he studied Sociology at Jawaharlal Nehru University and the Delhi School of Economics.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/raw/cisxscholars-delhi-william-f-stafford-thursday-nov-03

Knowledge and Openness in the Digital Era

praskrishna — 2014-07-04T11:28:34Z

Andhra Loyola College and the Centre for Internet and Society's Access to Knowledge (CIS-A2K) team invite you to a two-day national workshop on knowledge and openness in the digital era.

Instructions for Participants

Each participant attending the Workshop should register themselves on Wikipedia. Please note that once you register on a Wikipedia project, you can use that 'Username' (i.e. same log-in details) across all Wikipedias and Wikimedia platforms. This should be done by June 22, 2014. Please note that you will not be able to register more than 5 Usernames from a single IP address within 24 hours (a security feature of Wikipedia). This tutorial will help you with Registration on Wikipedia http://sh.st/r9zc (click on this link).
Once registered the participants must enroll here http://bit.ly/U4Zxhp using an on-line registration form.
All the participants are expected to do take part in production sprints on Wikipedia. We will choose Telugu Language Wikipedia as a site to do some editing.

For this workshop each participant should come with three full-fledged articles (at least of 1200 words each) in Telugu. This should be typed and be available in a soft copy form and could be carried in a thumb drive or any other storage media which should be easily accessible to them during the training programme. Please check www.te.wikipedia.org to see if an article already exists on the topic that you are planning to write. You can even choose the expand the existing article on Telugu Wikipedia with your knowledge.

Suggested topics: a) Concepts/topics that you teach often; b) A famous theorist/thinker in your discipline; c) Any other notable topic that you feel should be in your language Wikipedia.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/openness/events/knowledge-and-openness-in-digital-era

Minimising Legal Risks of Online Intermediaries while Protecting User Rights

praskrishna — 2014-07-29T07:50:51Z

The Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) in partnership with Software Freedom Law Centre (SFLC.in) is organizing a workshop during the APrIGF event to be held at Crown Plaza, Greater Noida on August 5, 2014, 3.30 p.m. to 5.00 p.m. Jyoti Panday will be a panelist.

Thematic Area of Interest

Internet business in the Asia Pacific region

Consumer protection for users of global Internet services

Internet for socio-economic development

Specific Issues of Discussions & Description

Internet usage in the Asia Pacific region has been growing at a phenomenal rate and online service providers have benefited enormously from this growth. However, the region poses challenges for online service providers in terms of legal risks involved with respect to user generated content. Across the world from Europe to the US, it has been an accepted policy that service providers on the Internet cannot be held liable for user-generated content and this principle has found place in legislations enacted in this field in most countries. However, the Asian region has often seen blocking of services and websites due to user-generated content that is deemed to be illegal. There needs to be a debate on safe harbour provisions for intermediaries and the take-down provisions in legislations to ensure that the right to freedom of expression of citizens are protected while maintaining an environment that permits innovation in this space.

The workshop will also consider the different classes of intermediaries, how they differ functionally and if their differing roles should bear an impact on their responsibility with regards to protection of rights of users. Traditional models of consumer protection are based on distinguishing the roles and responsibilities of suppliers, facilitators and consumers. While developing consumer protection models for online intermediary platforms, their evolving roles and responsibilities as a supplier and a facilitator need to be considered. Intermediary platforms have also created and highlighted new consumer relations and issues that call for robust and fluid reddressal mechanisms.

The need to reflect on reddressal mechanisms for consumer issues pertaining to online intermediaries is also necessary, given the economic implications associated with intermediary liability. Failure to protect intermediaries stems innovation and restricts growth of start-ups and small to medium enterprises in the digital economy and has negative financial implications. Moreover, intermediaries are crucial in connecting developing countries to global markets and a failure to protect them, creates a barrier to information exchange and capacity building.

The panel will discuss the following issues:

Take-down procedures and Put-back provisions used in various countries in the region
Safe-harbour provisions for intermediaries
Need for classification of Intermediaries for the purpose of a take-down regime and user rights
Rights of users of services provided by online intermediaries
Recommendations for a balanced intermediary liability regime

Expected Format and Confirmed Panel Members

The workshop will be a ninety minute panel divided in two sessions of forty five minutes each. The proposed panel includes:

Mishi Choudhary (Moderator) SFLC.IN Civil Society India
Mishi Choudhary is the founding director of SFLC India. She started working with SFLC in New York following the completion of her fellowship during which she earned her LLM from Columbia Law School and was a Stone Scholar. In addition to her LLM, she has an LLB and a bachelors degree in political science from the University of Delhi, India.

Jyoti Panday, Center for Internet and Society, Civil Society, India
Jyoti Panday is Programme Officer at the Centre for Internet and Society working on Internet governance and on issues related to the role and responsibility of intermediaries in protecting user rights and freedom of expression. She has experience in strategy, campaign management and research on issues and processes related to the development agenda, sustainability and democracy. She has completed her MSc in Public Policy from Queen Mary, University of London.

Shahzad Ahmed, Bytes for All Pakistan, Civil Society, Pakistan
Shahzad Ahmad is the Country Coordinator of Bytes for All, Pakistan and founder of the Digital Rights Institute (DRI). He is currently working on issues of ICT policy advocacy, internet rights and freedom of expression. He is a development communications expert and is at the forefront of the Internet Rights movement in Pakistan.

Mr. Ahmad is a Diplo Fellow, Executive Board Member of the Association for Progressive Communications, Advisory Board Member of .PK ccTLD and a member of the International Advisory Board of Privacy International, UK. He regularly contributes to various publications and research studies on ICTs for development, freedom of expression and gender related issues. Widely travelled, he regularly participates in various forums at local, regional and global level. Mr. Ahmad maintains a strong engagement with broader civil society networks and strongly believes in participation and openness.

Professor KS Park, Korea University Law School Professor
One of the founders of Open Net Korea, Professor Park has written and is active in internet, free speech, privacy, defamation, copyright, international business contracting, etc. He has given expert testimonies in high-profile free speech cases including the /Minerva /case, the internet real name verification case, the military’s subversive book blacklisting case, the newspaper consumers’ boycott case, and the Park Jung-Geun Retweet case. As a result, the “false news” crime and the internet real name verification laws were struck down as unconstitutional, Park Jung-Geun and Minerva acquitted, the soldiers challenging book blacklisting reinstated, the newspaper boycotters acquitted partially as to the “secondary boycotting” charge (2010-2013).

Since 2006, he serves as the Executive Director of the PSPD Law Center, a non-profit entity that has organized several impact litigations in the areas of free speech, privacy, and copyright. There, the Law Center won the world’s first damage lawsuit against a copyright holder for “bad faith” takedown (2009) and the first damage lawsuit against a portal for warrantless disclosure of the user identity data to the police (2012).

Arvind Gupta, National Head-Information and Technology, Government/ BJP Political party, India
National Head, BJP Information Technology Cell

Faisal Farooqui, CEO, MouthShut.com, Private Sector, India
Faisal Farooqui is a highly recognized entrepreneur who is among the trailblazers of his generation. Faisal has founded and managed two successful Internet and technology companies -MouthShut.com, India's largest consumer review and social media portal and Zarca Interactive, a Virginia based enterprise survey and feedback company.

Ramanjit Singh Chima, Google, Private Sector, India
Raman Jit Singh Chima serves as Policy Counsel and Government Affairs Manager for Google, based in New Delhi. He currently helps lead Google'spublic policy and government affairs work in India. He is a graduate of the Bachelors in Arts and Law (Honours) programme of the National Law School of India University, Bangalore. While at the National Law School, he was Chief Editor of the Indian Journal of Law and Technology. He has studied Internet regulation as an independent research fellow with the Sarai programme of the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies and contributed to Freedom House's 2009 Freedom on the Internet report.

Apar Gupta, Legal, India
Apar Gupta is a practicing lawyer in Delhi working as a Partner at the law firm of Advani & Co. His practice areas include, commercial litigation and arbitration with a focus on technology and media. Apar as a retained counsel, represents an internet industry organisation in government affairs, including consultations on draft laws and policies which effect the sector. These issues include legal risks of intermediaries, media freedom and consumer rights. He has completed his masters in law from Columbia Law School, New York and has written columns for the Business Standard, Indian Express and the Pioneer on legal issues. Apar also is a visiting faculty at National Law University, Delhi.

Full Name, Affiliation and Contact Details of the Workshop Organizer

The workshop will be jointly organised by SFLC.IN and the Centre for Internet & Society, India. The details of the contact person for the workshop is given below:

Name: Ms. Mishi Choudhary, Executive Director, SFLC.IN I
E: mishi@softwarefreedom.org
Jyoti Panday—Centre for Internet & Society, India
E: jyoti@cis-india.org

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/events/minimising-legal-risks-of-online-intermediaries-while-protecting-user-rights

Multi-stakeholder Internet Governance: The Way Ahead

praskrishna — 2014-07-29T07:08:04Z

The Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) in partnership with Software Freedom Law Centre (SFLC.in) is organizing a workshop "Multi-stakeholder Internet Governance: The Way Ahead" on August 6, 2014, 10.30 a.m. to 12.00 p.m., at during the APrIGF event to be held at Crown Plaza, Greater Noida.

Thematic Area of Interest

Enhanced Cooperation & the Multi-stakeholder model

Introduction:
Today, multi-stakeholderism is the catchphrase in Internet governance. With the display of a multi-stakeholder model at NETmundial, controversies and opinions regarding the meaning, substance and benefits of multi-stakeholderism have deepened. As the recent meeting of the Working Group on Enhanced Cooperation of the United Nations Commission on Science, Technology and Development demonstrates, questions and concerns regarding meaning of multi-stakeholderism, the

legitimacy and desirability of its processes, and the successes and disappointments of its outcomes now dominate the discussion. At this juncture, clarity and consensus are imperative to determine the future of multi-stakeholderism in Internet governance.

Roles and responsibilities of stakeholders:
The debates surrounding stakeholder-roles in Internet governance began with ¶ 49 of the Geneva Declaration of Principles and ¶ 35 of the Tunis Agenda, which delineated clear roles and responsibilities. It created a ‘contributory’ multi-stakeholder model, where states held sovereign authority over public policy issues, while business and civil society were contributed to ‘important roles’ at the ‘technical and economic fields’ and the ‘community level’, respectively. At the same time, it set forth an agenda for enhanced cooperation.

As the WGEC meeting (April 30-May 2, 2014) demonstrated, there is as yet no consensus on stakeholder-roles. Certain governments remain strongly opposed to equal roles of other stakeholders, emphasizing their lack of accountability and responsibility. Civil society is similarly splintered, with a majority opposing the Tunis Agenda delineation of stakeholder-roles, while others remain dubious of permitting the private sector an equal footing in public policy-making. Still others question the wisdom of seeking a ‘fix’ when ‘nothing is broken’. In this session, we aim to interrogate the benefits and disadvantages of an ‘equal footing’ model, as opposed to a ‘contributory’ model.

Specific Issues of Discussions & Description

Who are the stakeholders? Should a multi-stakeholder model of Internet governance grant all stakeholders ‘equal footing’? Should such ‘equal footing’ be relegated to issues other than substantive public policy-making? On the other hand, is a ‘contributory’ model safer? Are states better equipped to represent interests inclusively? How can governments and businesses best perform their role as trustees of the public interest of interest users?

In view of the formidable consolidation by the private sector at NETmundial, while civil society splintered on issues of intellectual property and intermediary liability, can a ‘participative model’ better prevent detrimental outcomes?

Multi-stakeholderism beyond NETmundial:
As important as the meaning of multi-stakeholderism is the process of its execution. The need to fashion safe and sustainable processes for multi-stakeholder participation was highlighted by the successes and failures of private sector and civil society at NETmundial. From the ICANN and IGF models to stakeholder coalitions, premeeting coordination and governmental policy participation, this session shall expand on the quest for effective and beneficial stakeholder participation and representation in both the ‘equal footing’ and ‘contributory’ models, with a focus on enhancing developing country participation.

Particularly, lessons that Internet governance may draw from multi-stakeholder governance processes across areas shall be discussed. For instance, deliberative democracy, enterprise associations or unions (such as in the International Labour Organisation) may all be of value. Similarly, multi-stakeholder processes in environmental and corporate governance and the development sector may benefit Internet governance. In determining the value of these processes to Internet governance, public interest of users is an important consideration. The capability and initiative of governments to implement an effective bottom-up model of Internet governance is equally important and will be considered.

We aim to conduct a 90-minute workshop (2 panels of 45 minutes each), inclusive of 15-30 minutes in all for Q&A from audience, panellists and moderators.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/events/multi-stakeholder-internet-governance-the-way-ahead

Bangalore Chapter Meet - DSCI

praskrishna — 2015-11-22T12:10:16Z

The Centre for Internet & Society (CIS) is glad to host the Bangalore Chapter Meet of DSCI on Tuesday, December 1, 2015, from 2.30 p.m. to 5.30 p.m.

Pronab Mohanty, Inspector General of Police, will give a talk on Cybercrimes. Given his rich experience in handling cyber-crimes, participants are expected to immensely benefit from his talk. Sunil Abraham, Executive Director, CIS will present the outcome of his SIG, the study period for which got recently concluded after about six months of in-depth study - "Anonymity in Cyberspace" - a topic that touches our daily lives when we browse internet. The session will also include developments from the recent Jaipur International ISO Conference.

Agenda

Time	Detail
2.30 3.00	Recent developments, updates from DSCI and SIGs: P. Srinivas
3.00 4.00	Anonymity in Cyberspace: Sunil Abraham, Executive Director, CIS
4.00 5.00	Talk on Cybercrimes: Pronab Mohanty, Inspector General of Police, Karnataka
5.00 5.30	High Tea and Networking

Since seats are limited, the participation will be restricted to first 50 confirmations. Please rush your email confirmation to Rajesh_K18@infosys.com

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/events/bangalore-chapter-meet-dsci

Launch of Silicon Plateau Vol-1

sumandro — 2015-11-26T04:32:41Z

Please join us on Friday, November 27, 2015 at 6.30 pm for the book launch of Silicon Plateau Vol-1.

Born from a collaboration with or-bits.com and the Researchers at Work (RAW) programme at the Centre for Internet and Society, Silicon Plateau is the first volume of a publishing series aimed at observing how the arts, technology and society intersect in the city of Bangalore. Guided by our belief in the importance of understanding technologies in their specificity rather than their universality, Silicon Plateau presents observations emerging from the personal experiences and perspectives of a variety of contemporary artists, writers and researchers, national and international, who either live in or have spent a period of time in the city, or have just crossed paths with its communities.

Silicon Plateau Vol–1 features works by Abhishek Hazra, IOCOSE, Tara Kelton, Anil Menon, Achal Prabhala, Sunita Prasad, Sreshta Rit Premnath, Renuka Rajiv, Anja Gollor & Mirko Merkel, and Christoph Schäfer.

VENUE: T.A.J. Residency, No. 21 (New No. 53), 2nd Cross, Wheeler Road Extension, Cooke Town, Bangalore, 560084.

PLEASE NOTE: Coming from Pottery road up to Wheeler Road Extension there are three roads called 2nd Cross. Take the third one on the right-hand side, just after D'Costa Café. The road is also marked with a blue sign for CCBI. Also note that our building does not have parking.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/raw/launch-of-silicon-plateau-vol-1

Celebrating the success of Wikipedia in Wikipedia Summit Pune 2013

subha — 2013-04-16T12:48:40Z

Wikipedia Club Pune, a local community based outreach user group in Pune has recently organized Wikipedia Summit Pune 2013 to spread words about “Spoken Wikipedia”, a project to add recorded audio for Indic language Wikipedia articles which will help the disabled to access Wikipedia and “Bridging Editor Gender Gap.”

On January 12 and 13, 2013, I was in Pune to participate in the Wikipedia Summit Pune 2013, a two day event organized by Wikipedia Club Pune to promote Wikipedia as an effective means of education, to empower and reach out to India, to bring the country under a spotlight through Spoken Wikipedia, and to bridge the gender gap of Wikipedia editors. Here is a summary of the activities.

Day 1

On the first day, January 12, more than 100 people including students from almost 10 different schools, housewives, working professionals and free and open source activists participated. The opening ceremony began with talks from Abhishek Suryawanshi, founder member of Wikipedia Club Pune, Sudhanwa Jogelkar, President of Wikimedia India Chapter, Rishi Aacharya, Principal, PAI International Learning Solutions, and social activist Ms. Vibha.

Before the formal opening Abhishek spoke for a while about the Spoken Wikipedia project which is one main agenda of the two days event. He explained about the need of spoken wikipedia, especially for people with disabilities and how effective it would be when it spreads in 20 Indic languages. In the past wikipedians in Pune gathered and recorded articles in various Indian and international languages.

Sudhanwa Jogelkar, President, Wikimedia India Chapter introduced the chapter's role for Wikimedia movement to the audience. He spoke about the chapters' in few of the national events/projects like Wiki Loves Monument, GLAM project in Crafts Museum, Delhi and many other outreach events. There were few announcements about the chapter on the MoU to be signed from the chapter with district collector of Kanyakumari, the India Chapter being partner to Springfest, IIT, Kharagpur, Commons day celebration in February and GNUnify 2013, Pune.

Vibha, a social activist based in Delhi spoke about gender discrimination in many aspects of our social and professional life. Access to knowledge for free could bridge this and Wikipedia, being so known universally and accessed by millions of people every day could be the best platform for this.' says Vibha.

Rishi Aacharya, Principal of PAI International brought the vedic saying "Ya vidya sa vimuktaye" to explain the real meaning of knowledge which is free of its existence in an Indian context. He spoke about open source movement and Wikipedia's part in it.

After the formal opening there was a Q&A session for the participants to clarify various questions they had about Wikipedia. Then they were explained about the three parallel sessions: An Open Discussion about Gender Gap, Workshop for Indic Languages, and Spoken Wikipedia. The session on gender gap was attended by many school students. Vibha and some activists coordinated this event. In the Workshop for Indic languages and Spoken Wikipedia, wikipedians helped participants for the workshop with basic editing and the participants edited Marathi and Hindi Wikipedia. Articles from various medical subjects of common interest were chosen. There were three medical professionals to support with the medical terminologies for editors contributing to Marathi and Hindi Wikipedia.

At the end of the day there were separate wrap up tracks to summarize the learning of whole session. All of the participants gathered together to educate each other about the work they have done. Many of the participants spoke about their experience and learnings. Plans for the next day was announced. Wikipedians gathered for a group photo and socialized after the closing talks.

Day 2

The second day, January 13, of the Wikipedia Summit in Pune was a sequel of the activities which happened on the first day. More than 40 students took part in this session. Vibha, Srishti and team were coordinating the gender gap track. Many topics related to Gender Gap, gender based discrimination, Role of gender gap in occupation, Gender gap in Wikipedia, Participation of Woman editors on Wikipedia were discussed.

One of the participating Wikipedians recording his voice for a Marathi article	Spoken Wikipedia is a project to bring out editors who are willing to contribute to Wikipedia by reading the Wikipedia articles, recording them and the uploading them to WikiCommons. These recorded audio could be used for articles on various Indic Wikipedias and would be really useful for users with disabilities. The first workshop was aimed for contribution for articles related to common diseases. "Those who are blind and unable to read can listen to the articles and get information. This will be beneficial to a lot of people", says Atharva, a school student who has contributed to an article about Rabies on Marathi Wikipedia.

Participants of the Spoken Wikipedia session worked on the articles on Hindi and Marathi Wikipedia and moved them from sandboxes to article namespaces. After all of the articles were created they recorded them. They formed groups of 3-4 members and worked together. One of them would search information mainly from the English Wikipedia articles and some of the available Marathi (or Hindi), some others would translate and the other member would record it using a mobile phone. That was a great team effort.

Over 25 voluntary organizers joined hands for making this a success. There were about 120 participants. At the end of the day participants from both the sessions gathered. Many of the participants and organizers shared their experiences and learnings. The program was concluded with socializing, taking group pictures, promises to stay in touch and taking active part in more Wikipedia activities.

This event was co-hosted by Centre for Internet and Society with a financial support of ₹ 21,600 granted by Kusuma Foundation.

Also see:

Wikipedia Summit Pune: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Summit_Pune
Wikipedia Club Pune: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Club_Pune
Pictures: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Wikipedia_Summit_Pune
Spoken Wikipedia Project: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Spoken_Wikipedia_-_India
Pune Club facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/WikipediaClubPune

Video

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/celebrating-the-success-of-wikipedia-in-wikipedia-summit-pune-2013

Wikimedia Bangalore Meetup @ Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore

praskrishna — 2013-02-14T06:01:28Z

The Access to Knowledge team of the Centre for Internet & Society in partnership with Wikispeed and NASSCOM is organizing meetup at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Bangalore on February 25, 2013 at 2.00 p.m. Vishnu Vardhan will speak on the Access to Knowledge program.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/wikimedia-bangalore-meetup-at-iimb

My First Wikipedia Training Workshop – Theatre Outreach Unit, University of Hyderabad

vishnu — 2013-08-19T06:51:16Z

On March 8, 2013, a day-long Telugu Wikipedia training workshop was organized by the Centre for Internet and Society's Access to Knowledge (CIS-A2K) team at the Golden Threshold, Nampally, Hyderabad in collaboration with Theatre Outreach Unit, University of Hyderabad. This blog post gives a concise account of the event.

CIS-A2K had planned a day long Telugu Wikipedia training workshop in collaboration with Telugu Wikipedians at the English and Foreign Languages University (EFLU), Hyderabad on March 8, 2013. The intention was to target research students at EFLU who are using Telugu material or working on topics related to Telugu and Andhra Pradesh. This event was also to be part of the Wiki Women’s month events across India. However, this event had to be cancelled in the last minute as a Research Student of EFLU committed suicide on the campus and there was major unrest. The faculty from EFLU though had informed of the possible cancellation of the event earlier, had only confirmed it on March 7, 2013. Rahmanuddin Shaik (Telugu SIG, Wikimedia India Chapter) and Dr. Rajasekhar (Telugu Wikipedia Administrator) had already blocked an entire day for this training workshop. In fact a lot of background work was already done for the EFLU event.

When I got the news of cancellation of the workshop, initially I was very dejected at the thought of informing the two active Telugu Wikipedians about it, which I had to do. As my tickets were anyhow booked to Hyderabad and there was no point cancelling them, as I was already on my way to catch the flight, I decided to go ahead with my journey. I made some couple of quick calls and with some effort managed to organize a Wikipedia Training Workshop in collaboration with the Theatre Outreach Unit (TOU), University of Hyderabad (UoH). I was anyhow planning on visiting them to explore an institutional collaboration. The Project Director of TOU Dr. Peddi Ramarao, though agreed to spread the word about the workshop, yet was not sure how many would turn up at such a short notice of one night.

	Rahmanuddin and Dr. Rajasekhar giving hands-on training to edit Telugu Wikipedia at Golden Threshold, Hyderabad

So on March 8, 2013 Rahmanuddin, Dr. Rajasekhar and I landed at the Golden Threshold hoping against hope to see at least 3 or 4 participants. But alas there were only 2 people when we reached the venue by 10 a.m.. By 10.25 a.m. we had 9 participants, which excited us all. The training workshop began with an introduction of all the participants. Following this a presentation was made on the significance of Wikipedia in the digital era and how Indian language-Wikipedias are pivotal in preserving the vernacular language and culture. This session was interactive with participants asking many questions. Dr. Peddi Ramarao, later, spoke about his experience of using Wikipedia as a reference tool and how he got introduced to contributing Wikipedia. Further, the discussion went on to the poor quality of articles on Telugu Wikipedia and how the participants can take part in improving the existing articles and contribute new articles. Rahmanuddin and Rajasekhar practically demonstrated the process of editing on Telugu Wikipedia. This was followed by a hands-on session where the participants actively participated in creating their Wikipedia User name on Telugu Wikipedia and did editing of few articles. The training programme was to officially end at Lunch time but even post lunch some of the participants were enthusiastic about learning more nuances of contributing on Telugu Wikipedia. The hands-on session thus continued until 4 p.m.

Post the Wikipedia training programme, I have had interactions with the Project Director of TOU to explore possible future collaborations. TOU, UoH agreed to offer space to host all Telugu Wikipedia meet-ups. As the Golden Threshold space was in the central part of the city, having this infrastructure accessible was a major boost for the Telugu Wikipedia community in Hyderabad. Further, in the discussions we have agreed to collaborate with TOU, UoH in hosting the first mega Telugu Wikipedia community event Telugu Wiki Mahotsavam 2013.


Telugu Wikipedia Orientation in progress

Outcomes and Impact:

Out of the 9 new Users, who were trained during this workshop, 5 people have done more than 5 edits.
One person has become a very active editor on Telugu Wikipedia with more than 1000 edits in 3 months. A detailed account of this event was put up by this user on Telugu Wikipedia here [*]
Because of CIS-A2K’s efforts, Telugu Wikipedians in Hyderabad now have a good meeting space.
The availability of this space has also encouraged the Telugu Wikipedians to meet more often than before. Since March 8, 2013 Telugu Wikipedians had a total of 6 meet-ups, and all these were held at Golden Threshold.
Golden Threshold also became a venue for hosting Telugu Wiki Mahotsavam 2013.
This visit to Hyderabad triggered a discussion about organizing Telugu Wiki Mahotsavam, which was successfully organized in a month’s time.

Looking back, though this event was done as a last minute measure without many expectations, yet it turned out to be a lucky break! Especially, because this was my first ever event as the CIS-A2K Programme Director. It will remain a very memorable one. More so because it was done in collaboration with two of the active Telugu Wikipedians. Even more so because it has created some positive energy for the Telugu Wikipedia community, which has since then become a home turf.

[*]. http://bit.ly/17WYq7X

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/my-first-wikipedia-training-workshop

Odia Education Program at IIMC, Dhenkanal

praskrishna — 2013-01-24T10:23:05Z

The Centre for Internet & Society, Delhi is organizing a workshop on the Odia Education Program on January 26, 2013, from 3.00 p.m. to 6.00 p.m.

This is the first Odia Education Program which ran for three months and 16 students took active part in contributing on various articles on Odia Wikipedia. Subhashish Panigrahi will be supporting for the closing ceremony of the program.

ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆ:ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆ ଶିକ୍ଷା ପ୍ରକଳ୍ପ/ଭାରତୀୟ ଜନସଂଚାର ସଂସ୍ଥାନ, ଢେଙ୍କାନାଳ/୩ୟ କର୍ମଶାଳା

ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆ ରୁ

< ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆ:ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆ ଶିକ୍ଷା ପ୍ରକଳ୍ପ‎ | ଭାରତୀୟ ଜନସଂଚାର ସଂସ୍ଥାନ, ଢେଙ୍କାନାଳ

ଡେଇଁଯିବେ ଦିଗବାରେଣିକୁ, ଖୋଜିବେ

ଏହି କର୍ମଶାଳା ଭାରତୀୟ ଜନସଂଚାର ସଂସ୍ଥାନ, ଢେଙ୍କାନାଳରେ ଚାଲିଥିବା ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆ ଶିକ୍ଷା ପ୍ରକଳ୍ପର ଉଦଯାପନ କର୍ମଶାଳା । ଏହା୨୬ ଜାନୁଆରୀ ୨୦୧୩, ଅପରାହ୍ଣ ଘ୩.୦୦ମି. ରେ ହେବାକୁ ଅଛି । ଏହି କର୍ମଶାଳାରେ ଛାତ୍ରଛାତ୍ରୀମାନେ ଲେଖିଥିବା ପ୍ରସଙ୍ଗ ସବୁ ବିଷୟରେ ଉଇକିଆଳିମାନେ ମତାମତ ଦେବେ ଓ ଆଗକୁ କଣ କଣ କରିବେ ତାହା ବତାଇବେ । ଏକ ଉଦଯାପନ କାର୍ଯ୍ୟକ୍ରମ ସହିତ ଛାତ୍ରଛାତ୍ରୀମାନଙ୍କୁ ମାନପତ୍ର ପ୍ରଦାନ କରାଯିବ

ଆଲୋଚନାର ପ୍ରସଙ୍ଗ

ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆର ପ୍ରଥମ ଶିକ୍ଷା ପ୍ରକଳ୍ପର ସ୍ଥିତି ଓ ଫଳାଫଳ
ଏଯାବତ ଛାତ୍ରଛାତ୍ରୀମାନେ ଲେଖିଥିବା ପ୍ରସଙ୍ଗର ମୂଲ୍ୟାୟନ ଓ ମତାମତ
ଉପସ୍ଥିତ ସାହିତ୍ୟିକ ଓ ଭଦ୍ରମଣ୍ଡଳୀଙ୍କୁ ଓଡ଼ିଆ ଉଇକିପିଡ଼ିଆ ବାବଦରେ ସମ୍ୟକ ସୂଚନା
ମାନପତ୍ର ବିତରଣ

ଏଥିରେ ଭାଗନେଉଥିବା ଉଇକିଆଳିଗଣ

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/openness/events/odia-education-program-at-iimc-dhenkanal

How to Shut Down Internet Shutdowns

pranav — 2020-02-03T11:13:12Z

This talk will focus on the challenges and opportunities for research on internet shutdowns after the judgement of the Supreme Court in Anuradha Bhasin v. Union of India. Stepping beyond the judgement, there will be a wider discussion on the practice of whitelists, blocking powers of the central government.

About the Speaker

Apar Gupta is the Executive Director of the Internet Freedom Foundation.

Apar has been fighting the good fight for digital rights. While in law school almost 20 years ago, he wrote a legal commentary on the IT Act that is now in its third edition. As a lawyer in the Supreme Court, he worked on landmark cases such as on Section 66A, Intermediary Liability, Internet Shutdowns, the Right to Privacy and Privacy.

He also helped create public campaigns to advance net neutrality, reform defamation laws, fight Internet shutdowns and create a privacy statute. Apar previously ran his own successful law firm, was profiled in Outlook Magazine and listed in Forbes India's list of 30 under 30. He has also worked as a commercial litigator and partner in top law firms, written papers cited widely in local and international publications and taught courses at NLS and NLU.

RSVP here, or by sending an email Torsha (torsha@cis-india.org).

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/events/how-to-shutdown-internet-shutdowns

Launching CIS’s Flagship Report on Private Crypto-Assets

Admin — 2021-12-03T15:16:27Z

The Centre for Internet & Society is launching its flagship report on regulating private crypto-assets in India, as part of its newly formed Financial Technology (or Fintech) research agenda. This event will serve as a venue to bring together the various stakeholders involved in the crypto-asset space to discuss the state of crypto-asset regulation in India from a multitude of perspectives.

About the private crypto-assets report

The first output under this agenda is our report on regulating private cryptocurrencies in India. This report aims to act as an introductory resource for policymakers who are looking to implement a regulatory framework for private crypto-assets. The report covers the technical elements of crypto-assets, their history, proposed use cases as well as its benefits and limitations. It also examines how crypto-assets fit within India’s current regulatory and legislative frameworks and makes clear recommendations for the same.

About the Event

The launch event will feature an initial presentation by researchers at CIS on the various findings and recommendations of its flagship report. This will be followed by a moderated discussion with 5 panelists who represent the space in policy, academia and industry. The discussion will be centered around the current status of crypto-assets in India, the government’s new proposed regulations and what the future holds for the Indian crypto market.

The confirmed panelists are as follows:

Tanvi Ratna - Founder, Policy 4.0 and expert on blockchain and cryptocurrencies
Shehnaz Ahmed - Senior Resident Fellow and Fintech Lead at Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy
Nithya R. - Chief Executive Officer, Unos.Finace
Prashanth Irudayaraj - Head of R&D, Zebpay
Vipul Kharbanda - Non resident Fellow specialising in Fintech at CIS
Aman Nair - Policy Offer, CIS (Moderator)

Registration link: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_TdY-EPLoRvGY2rfsq4CENw

Agenda

17.30 - 17.35

Welcome Note

17.35 - 18.35

The status of private crypto-assets in India

Presentation on CIS’ flagship Report on regulating private crypto-assets in India
Moderated discussion with panelists across industry, government, journalism and academia providing their insight as to the current and future state of private crypto-assets, and their regulation, in India.

18.35 - 19.00

Audience questions and discussion

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/events/launching-cis-flagship-report-on-private-crypto-assets

Roundtable on A.I. and Manufacturing and Services

Admin — 2018-01-18T13:44:15Z

The Centre for Internet and Society (CIS), Bangalore is organizing a roundtable on ‘A.I. and Manufacturing and Services’ on the 19th of January, 2018 from 2 to 5 pm at ‘The Energy and Resources Institute’ (TERI) Bangalore. The Roundtable seeks to discuss the various issues and challenges surrounding the implementation of AI and related technologies on manufacturing processes and services.

Since the Industrial Revolution machines have substituted human labour and helped industries save time and money. This was succeeded by the advent of computers and technology which helped in completing tasks with better speed and accuracy than the human brain. The emergence of machine-learning technology and artificial intelligence has now made machines capable of doing work that was earlier considered to be something that could only be done by humans. From the use of AI in understanding customer shopping trends to its use in making automobiles, AI is becoming more of a norm than an exception. The analytics of how customers shop is now helping companies forecast their manufacturing needs. The synergy of technology and machines i.e. smart manufacturing, not only changes manufacturing and shipping but also improves worker safety. Different forms of smart manufacturing are also starting to come up in India: Wipro and Infosys have launched AI platforms, and the Indian Institute of Science is developing a smart factory with support from Boeing Company and General Electric. Infosys has also released an AI platform, ‘Nia’, which is programmed to forecast revenue and understand customer behaviour.

The instances of use of machines to substitute human workforce, in some cases, has brought about a sense of worry. Recent trends in factory hiring show that jobs are being lost to automated forms of labour, further evidenced by a report from the research firm HorsesforSources, which predicts that India is set to lose 640,000 low-skilled job positions to automation by the year 2021.The IT sector in India is also under risk from the use of AI. Reports have also found that the rising unemployment in the IT sector has led to increased pressure on labour regulators.

Although there are some studies that state that the use of AI would bring about a market for people who would need to work along with AI, the FICCI and EY’s 2016 Report on the Future of jobs and its implication on Indian higher education suggests that one of the ways to combat the loss of jobs was reskilling and upskilling the labour force. India has taken the first step towards this by launching the National Skill Development Mission.

From the use of neural networks to monitor steel plants for packing and shipping groceries, the use of intelligent machines has begun disrupting traditional business models in the industry. However, these advancements raise questions around labour, ethics, liability, and machine-human cooperation. Dialogue and debate are needed to understand how AI is being used in manufacturing, the potential benefits, and challenges of the same, and a way forward that optimizes innovation and protects human rights.

Roundtable Agenda

Friday 19th January | 2:00 p.m - 5:00 p.m.

2:00 - 2:30 Introduction and setting the scene

2:30 - 3:30 Discussion on the AI landscape in the manufacturing and services industry:

Manner and extent of integration of AI into manufacturing and services
Relevant stakeholders and their roles in implementing AI in manufacturing and services
Future of AI and related technologies in AI in manufacturing and services
Impact on work and labour

3:30 - 4:30 Discussion on challenges and solutions towards regulating AI in India:

Challenges faced in the conception and implementation of the AI product/ service, and reasons for such challenges.
Regulatory provisions for implementation of AI in the manufacturing and services under the existing laws, and need for reforms.
Challenges posed by AI to existing policy and regulatory frameworks in the Indian as well as the global context, and possible solutions.

4.30 - 5.00 Conclusion and way forward

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/events/roundtable-on-ai-and-manufacturing-and-services