Open Forum #71 Advancing Rights-Respecting AI Governance and Digital Inclusion through G7 and G20

Summary

This IGF Open Forum discussion focused on advancing digital rights and AI governance through cooperation between the G7 and G20, with particular emphasis on ensuring meaningful participation from Global South countries. The session was convened to address how AI and data-driven technologies are becoming general-purpose tools that require global cooperation to mitigate risks and distribute opportunities more equitably, especially as global majority countries are often excluded from key decision-making processes.

The panelists discussed the potential for Canada’s G7 presidency to build on previous work, particularly around “data flow with trust” principles that balance the need for cross-border data flows with concerns about data localization and fragmentation of the internet. The discussion highlighted how G20 leadership by emerging economies, particularly the transition from India to Brazil to South Africa, has created continuity around key digital priorities including digital public infrastructure (DPI), universal connectivity, and AI governance.

Brazil’s G20 presidency emphasized four main priorities: universal and meaningful connectivity, DPI development, information integrity, and AI governance with a development-centered approach. The Brazilian representative noted successful coordination between consecutive Global South presidencies and the importance of connecting G20 outcomes to other international processes like BRICS and COP30. South Africa’s upcoming presidency was positioned to continue this Global South leadership while bringing specifically African perspectives to digital governance discussions.

Key challenges identified included bridging the gap between high-level policy discussions and practical implementation, addressing ongoing digital divides where one-third of the world remains offline, and ensuring that DPI initiatives create genuine public value rather than simply replicating existing inequalities. The discussion emphasized the importance of multi-stakeholder engagement and open-source approaches to digital public goods as mechanisms for more equitable technology governance.

Keypoints

## Major Discussion Points:

– **G7 and G20 Coordination for Digital Governance**: The discussion focused on leveraging cooperation between G7 and G20 forums to address AI governance and digital inclusion, particularly ensuring meaningful participation from global majority countries that are often excluded from decision-making processes despite being most impacted by AI-driven changes.

– **Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) and Continuity**: Panelists emphasized the importance of maintaining continuity in digital transformation agendas across presidencies, particularly the legacy of DPI from India’s G20 presidency through Brazil to South Africa, and how these infrastructures require integrated data governance for optimal outcomes.

– **Data Flow with Trust and Fragmentation Concerns**: A key tension emerged around balancing free data flow across borders while maintaining trust and addressing the current inequitable distribution where 70% of traffic flows out of Africa with only 30% coming in, highlighting the need for mechanisms to redress uneven impacts and opportunities.

– **Global South Leadership and Perspectives**: The discussion highlighted how consecutive Global South presidencies (India, Brazil, South Africa) have brought different lenses to digital policy, emphasizing development-centered AI approaches, equitable digital inclusion focusing on demand-side constraints, and addressing collective/systemic harms rather than just individual privacy concerns.

– **Implementation Gaps and Multi-stakeholder Engagement**: Questions were raised about bridging the gap between high-level policy discussions and practical implementation, including how to engage industry and technical practitioners who will execute these policies, and the role of open source solutions in supporting decentralized and equitable digital infrastructure.

## Overall Purpose:

The discussion aimed to explore how G7 and G20 forums can better coordinate to advance AI governance and digital inclusion that serves global majority countries, while identifying opportunities to leverage the leadership of emerging economies in shaping more equitable digital transformation agendas.

## Overall Tone:

The discussion maintained a collaborative and constructive tone throughout, with panelists demonstrating mutual respect and shared commitment to addressing global digital inequities. The tone was professional yet passionate about the urgency of these issues, with speakers building on each other’s points rather than expressing disagreement. There was an underlying sense of optimism about the potential for South-South cooperation and continuity between presidencies, while acknowledging the significant challenges posed by geopolitical tensions and resource constraints.

Speakers

**Speakers from the provided list:**

– **Alison Gilwald** – Session moderator and co-convener

– **Sabhanaz Rashid Diya** – Tech Global Institute (Canada-based not-for-profit focusing on digital rights and policies for the global majority), session co-convener

– **Alison O’Beirne** – Director of International Communication and Internet Policy, Innovation, Science and Economic Development, Canada

– **Eugenio Garcia** – Director of Science, Technology, Innovation and Intellectual Property at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Brazil

– **Mlindi Moshologu** – Deputy Director General in the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies, Government of South Africa

– **Souhila Amazous** – Online moderator

– **Audience** – Multiple audience members including:

– A doctoral student from IELTS studying how large platforms undermine democracy

– Lisa Rembo from Research ICT Africa

**Additional speakers:**

– **Jameson Wesson** – Online participant who submitted a question about open source software and digital public goods

# Advancing Digital Rights and AI Governance: G7-G20 Cooperation for Global Equity

## Executive Summary

This IGF Open Forum (Forum No. 71) examined cooperation between the G7 and G20 on digital rights and AI governance, with particular focus on ensuring meaningful participation from Global South countries. The session was moderated by Alison Gilwald from Research ICT Africa and co-convened with Sabhanaz Rashid Diya from Tech Global Institute. Government representatives from Canada, Brazil, and South Africa discussed how consecutive Global South presidencies in the G20 have created opportunities to advance developing country priorities in digital governance.

The discussion highlighted how AI and data-driven technologies are becoming “general purpose technologies” requiring global cooperation, yet global majority countries are often excluded from meaningful participation in decision-making processes despite being most impacted by these changes. Speakers explored approaches to digital public infrastructure (DPI), data governance, and AI for development while addressing implementation challenges.

## Opening Context and Framework

Sabhanaz Rashid Diya established the session’s context by noting that Canada has inherited the G7 presidency during a period of multiple global challenges, including geopolitical tensions and funding cuts for the digital sector. She emphasized that while AI governance has gained attention in multilateral fora, meaningful participation from global majority countries remains limited.

Alison Gilwald framed the central challenge: “Despite growing attention from multilateral fora such as the G7 and G20, AI policies as has been shown through the GDC processes and through the AI governing humanity work done through the Tech Envoys Office, that global majority countries are often excluded from meaningful participation, and particularly multi-stakeholder participation in these processes. And these are the countries that are most impacted by AI-driven change and which are at least represented in these decision-making processes.”

She emphasized that data-driven technologies are becoming general purpose technologies, noting: “We need global cooperation to mitigate the risks and distribute the opportunities more equitably.”

## Brazil’s G20 Presidency Priorities

Eugenio Garcia from Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs outlined four key priorities for Brazil’s G20 presidency in digital economy discussions:

1. **Universal and meaningful connectivity** – addressing the digital divide

2. **Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI)** – focusing on public value creation

3. **Information integrity** – introduced as a new priority area, particularly connecting to climate change concerns ahead of COP30

4. **AI for development** – ensuring AI benefits reach developing countries

Garcia highlighted the successful launch of “a global initiative on information integrity and climate change,” demonstrating concrete follow-up from G20 discussions. He noted that information integrity was initially uncertain territory where “we didn’t know how the other members would react,” making its successful integration particularly significant.

## South-South Cooperation and Continuity

A key insight emerged regarding how consecutive Global South presidencies have enabled continuity. Garcia explained the role of the IBSA Dialogue Forum (India, Brazil, South Africa): “That was a happy coincidence, because from India, Brazil and South Africa, I think you might remember an initiative called IBSA Dialogue Forum, which was created in 2003 to promote South-South cooperation… So this helped a lot for this smooth transition, because when we finished our presidency, our foreign minister in Brazil received a South African delegation, decided to share our experience with them.”

Garcia emphasized that “political will is essential for follow-up” and noted the importance of connecting G20 discussions to other international initiatives like BRICS and COP30.

## Canadian G7 Approach and Coordination

Alison O’Beirne from Global Affairs Canada outlined Canada’s approach to its G7 presidency, emphasizing strong engagement in the G20 Digital Economy Working Group and AI Task Force. She highlighted the challenge of balancing innovation with continuity: “there’s a need to balance delivering new hallmark initiatives while maintaining continuity from previous presidencies.”

O’Beirne noted Canada’s support for initiatives like AI for Africa and the Technical Assistance Policy Facility through G20 engagement, while acknowledging that geopolitical tensions require both forums to “focus on areas of convergence to address shared challenges like climate change and digital infrastructure.”

## Data Governance Perspectives

The discussion revealed different perspectives on data governance approaches. Sabhanaz Rashid Diya noted challenges in balancing data flows with trust: “We’re seeing a movement where increasingly having localised data centres, localised data framework or data governance frameworks becomes increasingly more popular often at the expense of the free, interoperable, open internet… there really isn’t a strong global multilateral agreement around data flow with trust.”

She suggested that “data flow with trust” could be developed through multi-stakeholder processes building on existing Hiroshima principles.

Alison Gilwald presented a different perspective using African data: “At the moment, the free flow of trust means we’ve got, or free flow, let’s say we don’t have trust, we have 70% of traffic going out to the continent and only 30% of data coming in. So we need mechanisms that will really allow us to redress some of these uneven impacts from the harms point of view, but also address some of the very uneven opportunities.”

## Digital Public Infrastructure Focus

All speakers emphasized DPI as a critical priority. Gilwald noted that “DPI has emerged as critical governance area requiring integrated data governance for optimal outcomes” and advocated for approaches that “focus on public value creation and shift from supplier-side to demand-side evaluation of resources.”

Diya highlighted the potential of “open source DPI models” which “offer promise by moving infrastructure from private to public space and avoiding proprietary limitations.”

## Implementation Challenges

An audience member with 30 years of IT experience raised a practical concern: “How are we meeting the industry, meeting the people who are actually going to execute our policies? How would you recommend going about that? Where can we put our efforts so we get the most out of our efforts?”

This question highlighted the gap between high-level policy discussions and practical implementation, though detailed responses to this challenge were not fully captured in the available transcript.

An online participant, Jameson Wesson, also asked about “the role of open source software and digital public goods in powering decentralised DPI and multi-stakeholder engagement.”

## South African Presidency Transition

While Mlindi Moshologu from South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation was introduced to discuss South Africa’s upcoming G20 presidency, his substantive comments were not fully captured in the available transcript.

Lisa Rembo from Research ICT Africa raised an important question about continuity: “South Africa’s presidency comes after four Global South presidencies. And I’m curious about what are those concerns from the Global South that have been taken from the first Global South presidency, leading to a complete Troika leadership from the Global South and now a South African presidency?”

## Key Themes and Observations

The discussion revealed several important themes:

**Inclusion and Participation**: All speakers emphasized the need for meaningful participation from global majority countries in digital governance processes, particularly through multi-stakeholder approaches.

**Institutional Continuity**: The IBSA framework demonstrated how informal diplomatic relationships can create continuity beyond formal G20 structures, enabling sustained focus on Global South priorities.

**Public Interest Approaches**: Speakers consistently emphasized public value creation in DPI development and the importance of open source solutions.

**Implementation Gaps**: Questions from participants highlighted the challenge of connecting high-level policy discussions to practical execution by industry and technical practitioners.

## Conclusion

This IGF Open Forum highlighted both opportunities and challenges in G7-G20 cooperation on digital governance. The consecutive Global South presidencies have created unprecedented opportunities to advance developing country priorities, particularly around DPI, universal connectivity, and AI for development. The IBSA framework provides a model for maintaining continuity across presidencies.

However, significant challenges remain in ensuring meaningful participation from global majority countries and bridging the gap between high-level policy coordination and practical implementation. The discussion demonstrated shared commitment to inclusive, public interest approaches to digital governance while acknowledging the complexity of translating these principles into effective policies and programs.

The emphasis on connecting digital governance to broader global challenges like climate change, as seen in Brazil’s information integrity initiative, suggests potential pathways for building broader consensus and support for these priorities in international forums.

Alison Gilwald: Good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us for the IGF Open Forum, Forum No. 71. Hopefully you’re all at the right place. It’s Advancing Rights, Respecting AI Governance and Digital Inclusion through the G7 and the G20. I’m just going to start off by speaking a little bit about the objectives of this session and locate it a little bit in the AI-driven and data-driven context that we find ourselves in. But as we find these data-driven technologies such as AI rapidly becoming general purpose technologies and data-driven solutions such as digital public infrastructures infusing contemporary economies, public services and civic spaces, or at least the hopes of it being able to do so for many of our countries, global cooperation is required more than ever to mitigate not only the heightened risk and amplification of existing inequalities, but also ensuring the better distribution of the opportunities that are associated with these advancing technologies. Despite growing attention from multilateral fora such as the G7 and G20, AI policies as has been shown through the GDC processes and through the AI governing humanity work done through the Tech Envoys Office, that global majority countries are often excluded from meaningful participation, and particularly multi-stakeholder participation in these processes. And these are the countries that are most impacted by AI-driven change and which are at least represented in these decision-making processes that are emerging formally within the UN, but of course also through the emerging economies leadership of the G20 over the last three or four years. I think very importantly from the The Indian G20 process, we’ve now got the legacy of digital public infrastructures, which has emerged as a critical area of governance that will require more integrated data governance in order to get the best and optimal outcomes out of these infrastructures, and of course to deal with post-pandemic economic and social reconstruction that many of our countries continue to be dealing with in an increasingly volatile geopolitical situation, and in some ways make us feel further than ever from achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, which are all of our objectives. So just for this session, we are hoping that we have a lively discussion here and we urge you all to step up around the table. We won’t make you answer any questions, just you’re welcome to listen, you’re welcome to participate. There will be opportunities to do so and we look forward to that. And we’re hoping that from this we can feed into processes that are trying to leverage the leadership within the G7 and within the G20 over the past few years, and to bring some of these processes together in terms of addressing some of these big global challenges that we face. We’re going to be drawing from insights from Brazil, the very successful leadership of the G20, and certainly a mainstay in the integrated digital transformation agenda from India to Brazil and now, of course, South Africa. I think they will be joining us in – ah, there they are. So we have a wonderful set of panellists with us. I’m going to ask them, when they first speak, just to locate yourselves a little bit more in the international relations or policy side or where precisely you fit in here, but just for your affiliations at the moment, we have Alison O’Byrne – I’m not sure if I’ve got that quite right, but please correct – who’s the Director… Director of International Communication and Internet Policy, Innovation, Science and Economic Development at Canada, so a lot on your plate. And then we have Mlindi Mashaluku, who is the Deputy Director General in the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies in the Government of South Africa. And we have Eugenio Garcia, who is the Director of Science, Technology, Innovation and Intellectual Property at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Thank you so much for joining us. And then we’ve got Sabhanaz, who’s Rashid Diya, who’s also the co-convener of this session and will be speaking shortly after me and introducing some of the issues around the T7 and G7. I’m going to start right away by asking Sabhanaz, please go ahead and speak to us about the potential of the G7 to be leveraged with the G20.

Sabhanaz Rashid Diya: Thank you, Alison. And good morning, everyone. I am Sabhanaz Rashid Diya, I’m with the Tech Global Institute. We are a Canada-based not-for-profit that focuses on digital rights and policies for the global majority. So it’s a really interesting place to be, kind of, you know, seeing the developments in G7, closely following the G20, and then really trying to understand how all of this fits into the priorities of the global majority communities that we serve around the world. So I think I’ll just start off by saying that, you know, Canada has really inherited the G7. There’s a bit of an echo on the side, I’m not sure, but has inherited G7 presidency from the very successful Italian chairship. And you know, at a time when really the world is facing a number of different kinds of challenges, right? Obviously, in addition to the geopolitical situation, we’re also seeing increasing funding cuts for the not-for-profit sector and the broader digital sector. Sabhanaz Rashid Diya, Miriam Wimmer, Sabhanaz Rashid Diya, Miriam Wimmer, Souhila Amazous I’m speaking here on behalf of TGI. I think there’s a couple of different priorities we see the G7 presidency can really champion that would really bring together the various equities that we see around the world today. So I think the first one that’s really important, from a non-state stakeholder perspective would be data flow with trust. And this is really building on the Hiroshima principles from several years ago, but currently in the world today because of the increasing pressures of whether it is the race to the bottom for AI or this need to establish sort of national boundaries on how we think about data, data ownership, data rights. We’re seeing a movement where increasingly having localized data centers, localized data framework or data governance frameworks becomes increasingly more popular often at the expense of the free, interoperable, open internet. And so, although currently there really isn’t, well, there are some principles here and there really isn’t a strong global multilateral agreement around data flow with trust. There has been different models of it, which has been quite fragmented. But I think, and we believe that in terms of just building on what we saw with the Hiroshima process, Canada really has a strong opportunity to be able to pull together a multi-stakeholder process in which we co-develop shared principles for data flow across geographies, across regions, across different kinds of economies and build towards a trust toward.

Alison Gilwald: and Melinda Ngo. Thank you very much. I’m going to, of course, leave Melinda to speak to the specifics on the G20 agenda, but just to speak about the integrated digital transformation strategy that we have been following with G20, or we’ve been involved with the G20, which has really tried to consolidate the emerging economy leadership of the G20 and really take forward from each G20 these important aspects that are somewhat, you know, come with a different lens on some of those issues. And just very quickly to speak to some of these important cross cuts that you have on, you know, free flow of trust and, you know, fragmenting internet and these sorts of things. There have been very interesting discussions within the G20, which are obviously still under way and there’s no consensus on these sorts of things, but certainly a number of the policy briefs, these issues have been taken up very strongly within the G20 and T20 under Brazil. So much so that, you know, data was proposed as a major initiative coming out with a T20 and C20, actually asking for a D20, it seems to be so significant. And certainly it’s a very strong cross cut. The T20 agenda very much shadows the G20 agenda. It’s a little bit tighter because we don’t have a lot of resources, but things that we’ve had incredible policy inputs on equitable digital inclusion, on transformative DPI. There is another category that Melinda will speak about around micro enterprises, which is a focus of the Digital Economy Working Group. It does come up in some of the digital inclusion discussions quite strongly in the policy briefs. And then there’s one on enhanced technologies. and specifically AI, and I think just bringing this lens that we’ve had starting with the Indian Presidency with a focus not only on DPI but a strong focus on data for development and what that meant in that context, and just bringing together some of the development debates and some of the data debates, which have largely, when we speak about the cross-border flows and flow with trust, that these are very often conceptualised in, of course, international human rights, but within frameworks that have been focused very strongly on first generation and fundamental rights, on very individualised notions of privacy and very often not adequate attention to some of the collective and systemic harms that result from this, primarily, and in Africa, with over half the population not online, primarily from exclusion. So if the equitable, the digital inclusion component, both within the G20 and the T20, there’s been a strong emphasis on looking at the extensive evidence we have that this is no longer, or if we’re just talking digital inclusion, I’m not talking about the digital economy as a whole, which obviously needs very advanced technologies in order to flourish, but if we’re looking at digital inclusion for internet purposes, the main constraints we’re finding at the moment are actually on the demand side. So it’s not just inclusion, it’s about equitable inclusion, not about people being on tiny little bits of data and eking out stuff, but actually being able to transact and even be productive, and I think that’s come out very strongly in our continental frameworks that have been coming out in our policy briefs, certainly from African scholars and contributors, researchers to that process. That obviously requires a whole lot of attention, policy interventions that have to go beyond infrastructure that we need to look at. Just in terms of returning to the free flow of trust, because So data governance has been such a big crosscut. It’s come up in policy briefs for DPI very strongly. The focus there, both I think within the G20, but also in the T20 and drawing, I think, on the G20 from previous work done on the T20, has been about extending the focus on sort of techno-legal infrastructures to really understanding the potential of DPI in terms of public value creation, balancing the focus and the shift historically on sort of supplier-side infrastructural valuation of resources to looking at how we can get to more demand-side evaluation and allocation of resources that would produce digital commons and public goods and actually make these infrastructures beneficial and usable by the vast majority of people who, if we just implement them right now, are not going to be able to use them. And so that actually requires us to engage, and I think there have been really exciting engagements around things that have been already accepted in the G20 before, but really located not only in the global south, but in an African context, which the presidency has been very committed to. This is an African, you know, unfortunately our AU representative wasn’t here today, but they’re leading a lot of the projects on here because we’ve got these very strong data policy frameworks. They speak very much to redistribution. They speak very much to justice. And they highlight that you do not get, you know, if you have free flow of trust with the current status quo, we do not have the environments that are equitably trustworthy on either side. And at the moment, the free flow of trust means we’ve got, or free flow, let’s say we don’t have trust, we have 70% of traffic going out to the continent and only 30% of data coming in. So we need mechanisms that will really allow us to redress some of these uneven impacts from the harms point of view, but also address some of the very uneven opportunities. And so in this context, a lot of interesting policy briefs around, you know, regulating access to data, regulating access to compute, and of course, the important.

Alison O’Beirne: continue to be faced by the global majority in building resilient AI ecosystems, particularly challenges related to, you know, we discussed infrastructure supply side challenges, but also demand side challenges like AI talent, access to data, data free flow, and research and institutional capabilities, and all those pieces that have to sort of be figured out in tandem in order to build these resilient AI ecosystems. It’s an issue that’s top of mind as well, as noted at the G7 Leaders Summit. And we’ve also, as Canada particularly, have been strongly engaged on Digital Economy Working Group, on the AI Task Force through the G20, and particularly giving consideration to how our own Canadian initiatives can support things like the AI for Africa initiative, Technical Assistance Policy Facility, how we can ensure that we are engaging in a way that allows us to take the kind of expertise and the resources that we have and apply those to international systems and to multi-stakeholder systems that then provide those benefits out kind of more equitably in the world. And I really do think that that’s going to be at the heart of the work between G7 and G20 in the coming years, particularly on digital policy, is ensuring that we leverage these international processes, that we leverage our multilateral processes to be able to identify sort of consensus joint initiatives, but likewise that we leverage multi-stakeholder forums to do that too, that we bring in not just governments, but businesses, academia, civil society, to ensure that we are taking, as we say, this equitable approach to really advancing

Alison Gilwald: digital inclusion. Thank you so much, Alison. I’m hoping we can come back and follow up on a number of interesting points. I’m sure, Lindy, you want to feed on, to follow on from, but Lindy, why don’t you just tell us a little bit about both the G20 Digital Economy Working Group, the AI pillar within there, of course the DPI pillar as well, and then the AI task force.

Mlindi Moshologu: No, thank you. Thank you, Alison, for that.

Alison Gilwald: Thank you. I’m glad to be here. Thank you for the invitation. I think one of the first

Eugenio Garcia: challenges that we faced in the beginning of our presidency of G20 last year was to define the priorities, especially for the digital economy working group within the G20. And we talked about this with our Indian colleagues, because they did an amazing job in terms of bringing DPI into the discussions of the G20. And we also share similar concerns. Of course, in Brazil, we are trying to improve digital public services, etc. But our approach was always trying to see how developing countries can make a meaningful contribution in digital technologies. So we decided in the end that four priorities would be our suggestion as the Brazilian presidency of G20. The first, universal and meaningful connectivity. Because of course, this is an old issue, but we still have many digital divides. One third of the world’s population is still offline. So asking about global south countries, there is a lot that we need to do. So this was one of them. The second was precisely DPI, because we were also convinced that this was an important issue. And it would be nice to have some continuity from the Indian presidency with the Brazilian. Next, information integrity. But this was new. So we didn’t know exactly how other members would Sabhanaz Rashid Diya, Miriam Wimmer, Sabhanaz Rashid Diya, Miriam Wimmer, Souhila Amazous Sabhanaz Rashid Diya, Miriam Wimmer, Souhila Amazous Sabhanaz Rashid Diya, Miriam Wimmer, Sabhanaz Rashid Diya, Miriam Wimmer, Souhila Amazous Sabhanaz Rashid Diya, Miriam Wimmer, Sabhanaz Rashid Diya, Miriam Wimmer, Sabhanaz Rashid Diya, Miriam Wimmer, Souhila Amazous That was a happy coincidence, because from India, Brazil and South Africa, I think you might remember an initiative called IBSA Dialogue Forum, which was created in 2003 to promote South-South cooperation. It’s a group bringing together India, Brazil and South Africa, precisely, as three large developing countries, all democracies, and from three different continents, and also sharing similar concerns and challenges, especially in terms of the global digital ecosystem. So this helped a lot for this smooth transition, because when we finished our presidency, our foreign minister in Brazil received a South African delegation, decided to share our experience with them and see how we could guarantee that some of the issues that we brought would also have a continuation, and I think we were both successful as well. But for this to happen, we need political will. For example, let’s say, what about the follow-up from these discussions within the G20 regarding other international organizations or international initiatives? Because after G20, now, this year, we had the presidency of the BRICS in Brazil. So, and we also brought AI as a key point to discuss within the BRICS, drawing from this experience in the G20. Of course, they are completely different groups, but our approach was basically the same, that AI should be development-centered. And so, and another point is that also we have COP30 coming next November in Brazil. in Belém, the first ever COP in the Amazon rainforest. So when we say information integrity, we were in the beginning trying to understand the possible reaction from G20 members, but in the meantime we were in conversation with the United Nations Secretariat, in particular the Department of Global Communications and UNESCO. And when we had the summits of the G20 in Rio, we launched a global initiative on information integrity and climate change. You see, they have the connection between the G20 and the COP30. So I think connecting these dots, you need to make a conscious decision to ensure not only a smooth transition, continuity, and having the political will to follow up in a very concrete way. So this global initiative on information integrity and climate change has been launched, and now we are working with a call to action, a road to Belém, where the COP30 will be held. And I think this was very helpful. In general, we are very happy with what South Africa is doing in terms of moving forward with these topics, including in terms of the Digital Economy Working Group of the G20.

Alison Gilwald: I’ll stop here. Thank you so much for that. And I’m sure that Lindy wants to pick up on some of those points, but I’m going to go to the room, go forward to the room. I think the important point that you made that, or Lindy made first, that we had to kind of pare down our ambitions, maybe not our ambitions so much, but what we could achieve. And so there’s a kind of little more limited agenda. And one of the things that I think sort of went, I’m sure everybody’s maybe regret, but I think it’s been picked up is the information… and then also do those responses to each other please. So let’s start with the room, who would like to? Yes.

Audience: Can you hear me? This has been a really interesting discussion so far, I have more insight into the G20 process. It’s good to know that there are a lot of synergies, not just between the G20 presidencies but also between the G20 and the G7. I was wondering if you’re aware of any points of contention between these two processes and if you could speak to those and how we can address them. Thank you.

Alison Gilwald: Thank you so much. That’s a great question. Right, maybe we can do the online. Yep. Right, can the online moderator hear me? Hello, yes. Hi, hi. Have you got any questions to post to the panel? No, we do not have any online questions yet. Okay, all right. We’ll just take that one question from the floor, but please indicate, oh let’s take it, we’ve got another one from the floor. And then while people are responding, if there are any more from the floor or online, please let me know. Two more questions.

Audience: I’ll be the sole questionnaire here. I’m a doctoral student from IELTS. I am in Iceland studying how very large platforms are undermining democracy, with AI of course playing a large role in that. What I have found in my studies is that there seems to be a lot of gaps between high-level discussions and policies and our aims and practicalities. I have 30 years working experience in IT, so getting the input, training the people, integrating into computer science courses, etc. How are we meeting the industry, meeting the people who are actually going to execute our policies? How would you recommend going about that? Where can we put our efforts so we get the most out of our efforts? Thank you.

Alison Gilwald: Thank you so much. And another question from the floor?

Audience: Thanks. My name is Lisa Rembo from Research ICT Africa. Now, my question is about the continuity of presidency from one country to another in the G20 as well as synergies. Now, South Africa’s presidency comes after four Global South presidencies. And I’m curious about what are those concerns from the Global South that have been taken from the first Global South presidency, leading to a complete Troika leadership from the Global South and now a South African presidency? And also tied to that, what new agendas or new concerns is South Africa putting forward to the G20, given that this presidency is not just a Global South presidency but also an African presidency? Thanks.

Alison Gilwald: Thank you so much for that question, Liz. Perhaps if just we can add one question that I was expecting to come from the floor but maybe also for us to address, is that obviously in terms of the processes of the G20 and the G7,

Alison O’Beirne: both to deliver new hallmark initiatives. So to kind of put your own stamp on the presidency and to deliver something that really stands out and is unique and bring something new to the group. While also having a level of continuity from previous presidencies. You don’t kind of want to wipe the slate clean and start all over again. And so you end up in this real challenge that if you went on forever, you could have an ever-expanding agenda of different items to discuss and it just becomes too messy and sometimes you kind of have to trim things back. So that is always the challenge, I think.

Eugenio Garcia: with growing polarisation or geopolitical tensions, ideological divides. And you see that President Lula was invited to attend the G7 in Canada and he brought this message because it’s easier said than done, of course, let’s cooperate. But since we are hosting COP30, climate change is one of the issues that he brought to the table in terms of concerns with sustainability globally, but also energy security. And all these challenges need international cooperation. So I think if we are able to see how the G7 and G20 can coordinate better, exploring the converging areas where we can have concrete initiatives or perhaps discuss and be at least on the same page in some of these issues that are really essential. For all of us, I think that’s the way we should try always to move in that direction.

Alison Gilwald: Great, thank you so much. Souhila Amazous, do we have any online questions?

Souhila Amazous: Yes, there is one from Jameson Wesson. So it reads, Shabnam, we heard the need for decentralized API. And from Alison, we have heard the need for multi-stakeholder engagement. And we often find open source software can help power both. Would love to hear your reflections on the role of open source or digital public goods for cooperation and DPI.

Alison Gilwald: Okay, that’s such a big question. And so many things. I’m going to ask Shabnam to respond to that. And then I’ll just give everybody if there is time, if we can keep it. And then I’ll ask everybody just if they want to quick comment on that too and close off. Thank you.

Sabhanaz Rashid Diya: Great. Thank you. It is a very big question. But I think increasingly, one of the ways, DPI is obviously becoming increasingly important across the G20, but also across other forms that were part of, for example, the Freedom Online Coalition, we’re also discussing quite a bit about DPIs. And so increasingly, the promise of DPI is moving infrastructure from the private space to the public spaces and really reimagining governments as not just regular, but also sort of shapers of market. And I think there’s a real opportunity there. But in terms of just open source, DPI models, perhaps the biggest promise is the fact that it’s not a proprietary model necessarily, and that there’s really a lot of opportunity in terms of open source and different elements. So for example, whether it’s going to be the underlying code, whether it is the switch, whether it is some parts of the data, but I think the real promise of DPI is to be able to lean on really a long legacy of open code principles, open source sort of principles in terms of ensuring that DPI is able to fulfill its promises in terms of being a truly public interest technology and truly be able to tackle some of the market consolidation issues that we see.

Alison Gilwald: Thank you so much for that. I’m going to give the panelists, starting with Eugenio, if you want to just have one last comment, please go ahead. If we can keep it to 30 seconds.

Eugenio Garcia: Final remarks. I think, as I said, we were happy to have India, Brazil and South Africa in terms of cooperation, South-South cooperation, also securing this smooth transition that I mentioned was essential. I hope we can learn from this experience as a group and also help others for the next presidencies of the G20 and see how we can also be creative, but also fostering cooperation that we need right now to address some of these global challenges.

Alison Gilwald: Alison, please go ahead.

Alison O’Beirne: Absolutely. Maybe two quick points. One is to just echo what I think Eugenio was talking about during one of his previous responses and discussing the sort of need for G7 and G20 both together and in their distinct forums to really focus on areas of convergence. I think it really speaks to the need to recognize that these groups have a fundamental role in really reflecting our underlying humanity, the places where we all come together, things like climate change, things like digital infrastructure, where we might be affected as countries in different ways, but where we all have equities and we all have to really work collaboratively in order to solve those intractable challenges. And as a very last point, of course, we had a slightly strange G7 year this year with an election in Canada in the first half, so there’s more to come on our G7 presidency. We’ve got ministerials through the fall and some additional interesting digital work that I’m sure will be coming up in the coming months.

Alison Gilwald: Yes, it’s been an interesting six months all around, I think globally. Lindi?

Mlindi Moshologu: I think on my side, I just want to emphasize the need to advance the digital governance as well as AI.

Alison Gilwald: Thank you very much to the panelists, thank you very much to Souhila for the online moderation, and thank you very much to the audience.

Agreement points

Need for continuity and coordination between G7 and G20 presidencies

Speakers

– Alison Gilwald
– Eugenio Garcia
– Alison O’Beirne

Arguments

There’s a need to balance delivering new hallmark initiatives while maintaining continuity from previous presidencies

The IBSA Dialogue Forum (India, Brazil, South Africa) helped ensure smooth transition and continuity between G20 presidencies

Political will is essential for follow-up and connecting G20 discussions to other international initiatives like BRICS and COP30

Summary

All speakers agree that successful international digital governance requires deliberate coordination between successive presidencies, balancing innovation with continuity to avoid fragmented agendas

Topics

Legal and regulatory | Development

Importance of multi-stakeholder engagement in digital governance

Speakers

– Alison Gilwald
– Sabhanaz Rashid Diya
– Alison O’Beirne

Arguments

Global majority countries are often excluded from meaningful participation in AI policy processes despite being most impacted by AI-driven change

Data flow with trust is a critical priority, building on Hiroshima principles, but currently lacks strong global multilateral agreement

Canada is strongly engaged in G20 Digital Economy Working Group and AI Task Force, focusing on how Canadian initiatives can support global equity

Summary

Speakers consistently emphasize the need for inclusive, multi-stakeholder approaches that ensure meaningful participation from all affected parties, particularly global majority countries

Topics

Human rights principles | Development | Legal and regulatory

Digital Public Infrastructure as critical governance priority

Speakers

– Alison Gilwald
– Sabhanaz Rashid Diya
– Eugenio Garcia

Arguments

DPI has emerged as critical governance area requiring integrated data governance for optimal outcomes

Open source DPI models offer promise by moving infrastructure from private to public space and avoiding proprietary limitations

Brazil defined four G20 priorities: universal connectivity, DPI, information integrity, and AI for development

Summary

All speakers recognize DPI as a fundamental component of digital governance that requires public-focused approaches and integrated data governance frameworks

Topics

Infrastructure | Development | Data governance

Similar viewpoints

Both speakers critique current data flow frameworks as inadequate, emphasizing that true trust-based data flows require equitable foundations that don’t currently exist globally

Speakers

– Alison Gilwald
– Sabhanaz Rashid Diya

Arguments

Free flow of trust requires equitably trustworthy environments on both sides, which currently don’t exist

Data flow with trust is a critical priority, building on Hiroshima principles, but currently lacks strong global multilateral agreement

Topics

Data governance | Human rights principles | Legal and regulatory

Both speakers recognize that digital inclusion challenges go beyond infrastructure provision and require comprehensive approaches addressing demand-side constraints and meaningful connectivity

Speakers

– Alison Gilwald
– Eugenio Garcia

Arguments

There are extensive evidence-based constraints on digital inclusion, particularly on the demand side rather than just infrastructure

Brazil defined four G20 priorities: universal connectivity, DPI, information integrity, and AI for development

Topics

Development | Digital access | Infrastructure

Both speakers advocate for DPI approaches that prioritize public interest over private market dynamics, emphasizing open source solutions and public value creation

Speakers

– Sabhanaz Rashid Diya
– Alison Gilwald

Arguments

DPI can fulfill promises as public interest technology by leveraging open source principles to tackle market consolidation

DPI should focus on public value creation and shift from supplier-side to demand-side evaluation of resources

Topics

Infrastructure | Economic | Development

Unexpected consensus

Information integrity as emerging priority

Speakers

– Eugenio Garcia
– Alison Gilwald

Arguments

A global initiative on information integrity and climate change was launched, demonstrating concrete follow-up from G20 discussions

Brazil defined four G20 priorities: universal connectivity, DPI, information integrity, and AI for development

Explanation

The emergence of information integrity as a key priority represents unexpected consensus, as Garcia noted this was new and uncertain how other members would react. The successful integration with climate change discussions shows broader acceptance than initially expected

Topics

Legal and regulatory | Development | Sociocultural

South-South cooperation effectiveness in digital governance

Speakers

– Eugenio Garcia
– Alison Gilwald
– Audience

Arguments

The IBSA Dialogue Forum (India, Brazil, South Africa) helped ensure smooth transition and continuity between G20 presidencies

African data policy frameworks emphasize redistribution and justice, highlighting need for equitable trust environments

South Africa’s presidency represents continuity of Global South leadership after four consecutive Global South presidencies

Explanation

There’s unexpected consensus on the effectiveness of South-South cooperation mechanisms in digital governance, with the IBSA framework proving more successful than might have been anticipated in coordinating complex digital policy priorities

Topics

Development | Legal and regulatory | Data governance

Overall assessment

Summary

Strong consensus exists on the need for inclusive, coordinated approaches to digital governance that prioritize public interest and Global South perspectives. Key areas of agreement include the importance of DPI, multi-stakeholder engagement, and continuity between international presidencies.

Consensus level

High level of consensus with significant implications for digital governance – the alignment between G7 and G20 perspectives, particularly on DPI and inclusive participation, suggests potential for more coordinated international action. However, implementation challenges remain, as highlighted by audience concerns about gaps between policy and practice.

Different viewpoints

Approach to data flow governance – free flow with trust vs. regulated access

Speakers

– Alison Gilwald
– Sabhanaz Rashid Diya

Arguments

Free flow of trust requires equitably trustworthy environments on both sides, which currently don’t exist

Data flow with trust is a critical priority, building on Hiroshima principles, but currently lacks strong global multilateral agreement

Summary

Gilwald argues that current ‘free flow with trust’ models are fundamentally flawed because equitable trust environments don’t exist, citing Africa’s uneven data flows (70% out, 30% in) as evidence. She advocates for regulatory mechanisms to address these inequalities. Diya, while acknowledging the lack of multilateral agreement, still sees data flow with trust as a viable priority that can be developed through multi-stakeholder processes building on existing Hiroshima principles.

Topics

Data governance | Human rights principles | Legal and regulatory

Unexpected differences

Limited disagreement on fundamental approaches despite different organizational perspectives

Speakers

– All speakers

Arguments

Various arguments about digital inclusion, AI governance, and international cooperation

Explanation

Unexpectedly, there were very few fundamental disagreements among speakers despite representing different organizational perspectives (government officials from different countries, civil society, and international policy experts). The main substantive disagreement was on data governance approaches, but even this was more about emphasis and methodology rather than fundamental goals. This suggests either strong consensus in the field or potentially limited diversity of viewpoints in the discussion.

Topics

Development | Legal and regulatory | Data governance

Overall assessment

Summary

The discussion showed remarkably high levels of agreement among speakers on most fundamental issues including the importance of digital inclusion, the need for Global South participation in AI governance, the value of DPI, and the necessity of international cooperation. The primary area of disagreement centered on data governance approaches – specifically whether to pursue ‘free flow with trust’ models or more regulated access mechanisms.

Disagreement level

Low to moderate disagreement level. The speakers largely agreed on goals and challenges but differed on some implementation approaches. This high level of consensus may reflect either genuine alignment in the international digital policy community or potentially limited diversity of perspectives in the forum. The implications are generally positive for policy coordination between G7 and G20 processes, though the data governance disagreement could present challenges for developing unified approaches to cross-border data flows.

Partial agreements

Similar viewpoints

Both speakers critique current data flow frameworks as inadequate, emphasizing that true trust-based data flows require equitable foundations that don’t currently exist globally

Speakers

– Alison Gilwald
– Sabhanaz Rashid Diya

Arguments

Free flow of trust requires equitably trustworthy environments on both sides, which currently don’t exist

Data flow with trust is a critical priority, building on Hiroshima principles, but currently lacks strong global multilateral agreement

Topics

Data governance | Human rights principles | Legal and regulatory

Both speakers recognize that digital inclusion challenges go beyond infrastructure provision and require comprehensive approaches addressing demand-side constraints and meaningful connectivity

Speakers

– Alison Gilwald
– Eugenio Garcia

Arguments

There are extensive evidence-based constraints on digital inclusion, particularly on the demand side rather than just infrastructure

Brazil defined four G20 priorities: universal connectivity, DPI, information integrity, and AI for development

Topics

Development | Digital access | Infrastructure

Both speakers advocate for DPI approaches that prioritize public interest over private market dynamics, emphasizing open source solutions and public value creation

Speakers

– Sabhanaz Rashid Diya
– Alison Gilwald

Arguments

DPI can fulfill promises as public interest technology by leveraging open source principles to tackle market consolidation

DPI should focus on public value creation and shift from supplier-side to demand-side evaluation of resources

Topics

Infrastructure | Economic | Development

Key takeaways

Global majority countries are systematically excluded from meaningful AI governance processes despite being most impacted by AI-driven changes

Data governance requires integrated approaches that address both supply-side infrastructure and demand-side constraints for equitable digital inclusion

Current data flows demonstrate significant inequality (70% outbound vs 30% inbound for Africa), necessitating mechanisms to redress uneven impacts and opportunities

Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) should prioritize public value creation and shift from supplier-side to demand-side resource allocation to benefit the majority of users

The IBSA Dialogue Forum (India, Brazil, South Africa) has successfully enabled smooth transitions and continuity in G20 digital priorities across Global South presidencies

Open source DPI models offer promise for moving infrastructure from private to public spaces while avoiding proprietary limitations and market consolidation issues

Political will is essential for connecting G20 discussions to concrete follow-up actions in other international forums like BRICS and COP30

Both G7 and G20 should focus on areas of convergence (climate change, digital infrastructure) to address shared global challenges despite geopolitical tensions

Resolutions and action items

Canada to leverage G7 presidency to advance multi-stakeholder processes for developing shared principles on data flow with trust

Launch of global initiative on information integrity and climate change with a ‘road to Belém’ call to action leading to COP30

Canada to continue supporting AI for Africa initiative and Technical Assistance Policy Facility through G20 engagement

South Africa to advance digital governance and AI priorities while maintaining continuity from previous Global South G20 presidencies

Continued coordination between G7 and G20 processes to identify consensus joint initiatives leveraging multilateral and multi-stakeholder forums

Unresolved issues

Significant gaps between high-level policy discussions and practical implementation remain unaddressed

No clear mechanisms established for meaningful engagement of industry and practitioners who will execute policies

Lack of strong global multilateral agreement on data flow with trust despite fragmented models existing

Questions about how to effectively integrate policy discussions into practical training and computer science education

Specific points of contention between G7 and G20 processes were acknowledged but not detailed or addressed

Challenge of balancing new hallmark initiatives with continuity from previous presidencies remains ongoing

How to create equitably trustworthy environments on both sides of data flows not fully resolved

Suggested compromises

Focus on areas of convergence between G7 and G20 rather than attempting to resolve all differences

Leverage open source principles in DPI development to balance public interest with technological advancement

Pursue incremental progress through smooth transitions between presidencies rather than complete agenda overhauls

Connect digital governance discussions to concrete initiatives in other forums (BRICS, COP30) to maintain momentum

Emphasize multi-stakeholder engagement to bridge gaps between government policy and practical implementation

Despite growing attention from multilateral fora such as the G7 and G20, AI policies as has been shown through the GDC processes and through the AI governing humanity work done through the Tech Envoys Office, that global majority countries are often excluded from meaningful participation, and particularly multi-stakeholder participation in these processes. And these are the countries that are most impacted by AI-driven change and which are at least represented in these decision-making processes.

Speaker

Alison Gilwald

Reason

This comment is deeply insightful because it exposes a fundamental paradox in global AI governance – those most affected by AI developments have the least voice in shaping AI policies. It challenges the legitimacy and effectiveness of current governance structures by highlighting the disconnect between impact and representation.

Impact

This framing comment set the entire tone for the discussion, establishing the central tension that all subsequent speakers had to address. It shifted the conversation from technical cooperation to questions of equity and representation, forcing panelists to justify how G7/G20 processes can be more inclusive.

We’re seeing a movement where increasingly having localized data centers, localized data framework or data governance frameworks becomes increasingly more popular often at the expense of the free, interoperable, open internet… there really isn’t a strong global multilateral agreement around data flow with trust.

Speaker

Sabhanaz Rashid Diya

Reason

This observation is thought-provoking because it identifies a critical tension between data sovereignty and internet openness – two values that are often presented as compatible but may actually be in conflict. It reveals how the pursuit of national data control could fragment the global internet.

Impact

This comment introduced a new dimension of complexity to the discussion about data governance, prompting Alison Gilwald to respond with African perspectives on data flows and leading to deeper exploration of how ‘free flow with trust’ might actually perpetuate inequalities.

At the moment, the free flow of trust means we’ve got, or free flow, let’s say we don’t have trust, we have 70% of traffic going out to the continent and only 30% of data coming in. So we need mechanisms that will really allow us to redress some of these uneven impacts from the harms point of view, but also address some of the very uneven opportunities.

Speaker

Alison Gilwald

Reason

This comment is particularly insightful because it uses concrete data to challenge the seemingly neutral concept of ‘free flow of data,’ revealing how current arrangements actually perpetuate digital colonialism. It reframes data governance from a technical issue to a justice issue.

Impact

This statistical revelation fundamentally shifted the discussion from abstract principles to concrete inequalities, forcing other panelists to grapple with how their policy frameworks might address rather than perpetuate these imbalances.

That was a happy coincidence, because from India, Brazil and South Africa, I think you might remember an initiative called IBSA Dialogue Forum, which was created in 2003 to promote South-South cooperation… So this helped a lot for this smooth transition, because when we finished our presidency, our foreign minister in Brazil received a South African delegation, decided to share our experience with them.

Speaker

Eugenio Garcia

Reason

This comment is insightful because it reveals how informal diplomatic relationships and historical South-South cooperation frameworks can be leveraged to create continuity in global governance processes. It shows how geopolitical alignment can translate into policy coordination.

Impact

This observation introduced a new model for international cooperation that goes beyond formal G20 structures, suggesting how like-minded countries can create their own continuity mechanisms. It prompted discussion about how to institutionalize such cooperation.

I have 30 years working experience in IT, so getting the input, training the people, integrating into computer science courses, etc. How are we meeting the industry, meeting the people who are actually going to execute our policies? How would you recommend going about that? Where can we put our efforts so we get the most out of our efforts?

Speaker

Audience member (doctoral student)

Reason

This question is thought-provoking because it exposes a critical gap between high-level policy discussions and practical implementation. It challenges the panelists to move beyond diplomatic coordination to address the human capacity and institutional challenges of actually executing digital policies.

Impact

This question shifted the discussion from international coordination mechanisms to implementation challenges, forcing panelists to acknowledge the limitations of their high-level approaches and consider more practical, ground-level interventions.

South Africa’s presidency comes after four Global South presidencies. And I’m curious about what are those concerns from the Global South that have been taken from the first Global South presidency, leading to a complete Troika leadership from the Global South and now a South African presidency?

Speaker

Lisa Rembo

Reason

This question is insightful because it identifies a unique historical moment where Global South countries have consecutive G20 leadership, creating an unprecedented opportunity to advance developing country priorities. It challenges the panelists to articulate what this moment means for global governance.

Impact

This question prompted reflection on the significance of sustained Global South leadership and how it might create lasting changes in international digital governance, leading to discussion about continuity and the potential for structural shifts in global power dynamics.

Overall assessment

These key comments fundamentally shaped the discussion by consistently challenging comfortable assumptions about global digital governance. The conversation evolved from initial presentations about cooperation mechanisms to a more critical examination of power dynamics, implementation gaps, and structural inequalities. The most impactful comments used concrete data and historical context to expose contradictions between stated principles (like ‘free flow with trust’) and actual outcomes (like unequal data flows). This created a more honest and nuanced discussion about the challenges of achieving equitable digital governance through existing international structures. The questions from the audience were particularly effective in grounding the high-level diplomatic discussion in practical realities, forcing panelists to acknowledge the limitations of their approaches and consider more fundamental questions about representation, implementation, and effectiveness.

How can points of contention between G7 and G20 processes be identified and addressed?

Speaker

Audience member

Explanation

This question seeks to understand potential conflicts or disagreements between these two major international forums and how to resolve them for better cooperation

How can high-level policy discussions be better connected to practical implementation and industry execution?

Speaker

Doctoral student from IELTS

Explanation

This addresses the gap between policy formulation and actual implementation, particularly in training people and integrating policies into computer science education

What specific Global South concerns have been carried forward through the consecutive Global South presidencies in G20?

Speaker

Lisa Rembo from Research ICT Africa

Explanation

This seeks to understand the continuity and evolution of Global South priorities across multiple G20 presidencies

What new agendas or concerns is South Africa bringing as both a Global South and African presidency?

Speaker

Lisa Rembo from Research ICT Africa

Explanation

This explores the unique perspective and priorities that South Africa brings to the G20 presidency given its continental representation

What is the role of open source software and digital public goods in powering decentralized DPI and multi-stakeholder engagement?

Speaker

Jameson Wesson (online participant)

Explanation

This question explores how open source technologies can support both decentralized digital public infrastructure and inclusive governance models

How can G7 and G20 coordinate better to explore converging areas for concrete initiatives?

Speaker

Eugenio Garcia

Explanation

This addresses the need for better coordination between the two forums to maximize impact on shared global challenges

How can mechanisms be developed to redress uneven impacts and opportunities in data flows between regions?

Speaker

Alison Gilwald

Explanation

This relates to addressing the imbalance where 70% of traffic goes out of the African continent while only 30% comes in, requiring regulatory mechanisms for more equitable data access

How can demand-side evaluation and allocation of resources be improved to create digital commons and public goods?

Speaker

Alison Gilwald

Explanation

This focuses on shifting from supplier-side infrastructure valuation to demand-side approaches that would make digital infrastructures more beneficial and usable for the majority of people