iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

You can read the paper online here: citizens-track.org/2026/report/ And browse the case book the backs it: pave.pairs.site On Tuesday morning we will webcast the launch event. Sign up for that here: citizens-track.org/2026/07/07/g... And if you can support the citizens’ track, do reach out.

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The citizens’ track white-paper argues that meeting people’s demand for critical AI literacy & voice can help address structural challenges of global AI governance: delivering greater alignment, agency and accountability. It needs both grassroots engagement & docking points in global governance.

Components of a citizens' track. A stack diagram starting with docking points (AI Summit Series, UN Global Dialogue on AI Governance; Thematic Institutions; Industry and Public AI), and then Institutional interface (Governance, Expert advice, Capacity Building, Communication), followed by Coordination Hubs (National, Regional, Thematic), and Community assemblies at the grassroots. The stack indicates a flow of communication between these layers.

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You can find them all in the PAVE Case Book at pave.pairs.site - and we've been looking at the messages people had to share. On AI and health, education, infrastructure and work people express nuanced views that decision makers should be listening to.

pave.pairs

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A consistent message in public engagement on AI across the world is that people want more of a say in shaping the future of, and alongside, AI. We know because in creating the citizens’ track whitepaper we crowd-sourced examples of inclusive and deliberative Participatory AI Voice and Engagement.

Screenshot of a map of participatory processes around the world, showing 83 case studies, > 200,000 participants, across 95 countries and 6 continents.

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A Citizens Track on AI Governance: Alignment, Agency and Accountability

As the UN Global Dialogue on AI Governance in Geneva kicks off we are making the call for a Citizens' Track: putting people in the lead through joined up opportunities for grassroots and global citizen participation. citizens-track.org/2026/report/

citizens-track.org

Setting out why and how participatory practice can address the democratic deficit in AI governance, and bring greater alignment with the public interest, agency for communities, and accountability of ...

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Principles for Public Participation in the Procurement of AI (Version 1). Developed by ParticipationAI in partnership with Connected by Data.

Started my AI Governance week in Geneva at WSIS with a great panel organised by Women at the Table and AI & Equality network on AI Procurement. I had chance to talk about the Principles for Public Participation in Procurement of AI we launched last year with Participation AI: p4ai.net

p4ai.net

Home

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Tim Davies @timdavies.org.uk · 02/07/2026

Fantastically useful primer for thinking about next weeks AI governance events in Geneva

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Connected by Data @connectedbydata.org · 02/07/2026

We've been looking back over 2025-26 & it's been another good year. Now we share our annual report connectedbydata.org/... 🧑‍🏫 A major focus for our work this year has been on worker power, AI in the public sector & the intersection between the two, with a particular focus on education. 🧵 (1/7)

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Ben Goldacre @bengoldacre.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

*EPIC FREE LECTURE ON THURSDAY IN OXFORD* Our heroic CTO Seb Bacon on open science, open code, OpenSAFELY and more!

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Connected by Data @connectedbydata.org · 01/05/2026

🌍 PAIRSx Africa - now online and registration open! 🔈 Due to the cancellation of RightsCon, PAIRSx Africa will take place as an online online webinar on Monday, 04 May, 10am - 12pm Central African Time. 💻 Register to attend the session on Zoom: us06web.zoom.us/meeting/regi... @pairs.site

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Gavin Freeguard @gavinfreeguard.com · 30/04/2026

🚨 CALL FOR EVIDENCE 🚨 The UK govt is currently looking for ideas for the next open govt national action plan, which covers transparency, accountability, open data, digital governance, public participation and more Closes 25 May, as many ideas of 250 words as you'd like www.gov.uk/government/c...

gov.uk

Seventh UK National Action Plan for Open Government: call for evidence

We’re seeking evidence to inform the initial phase of the Seventh UK National Action Plan for Open Government.

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Tim Davies @timdavies.org.uk · 12/04/2026

The fact the pass covers travel down to London anytime on outbound travel day can also make a big saving if you're not London based and travelling weekday morning etc.

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Tim Davies @timdavies.org.uk · 12/04/2026

+1. Just got back yesterday from 2 weeks of Brussels, Berlin, Stuttgart, Paris with our two. Was great way to travel. Booked Brussels->Berlin sleeper direct but all the rest on a pass. Great value too with kids under 11.

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Tim Davies @timdavies.org.uk · 19/03/2026

Over half way through uploading recordings from @pairs.site 2026: critical presentations on participatory approaches to AI development, governance and resistance. www.pairs.site/Session-reco... Most talks are < 15 minutes, and packed with ideas & insights. Papers & slides linked where available.

Long list of the session recordings available at the URL in the post.

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Tim Davies @timdavies.org.uk · 19/03/2026

MozFest 2026 dates announced (UK October half-term), and an interrail pass sale on this week. Well, it would be silly not to book a pass & lock in all the 🚆 travel from home in the UK for less than the price of flights (4 day pass + max reservations cost). (www.interrail.eu/en)

interrail.eu

Interrail.eu | 1 rail pass, 33 countries

Travel across Europe and discover 33 countries by train with Interrail. Enjoy the best rail travel experience in Europe with our Interrail Pass!

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Tim Davies @timdavies.org.uk · 18/03/2026

The idea that early intervention will negate the need for later support plays into a narrative of quick fixes for deep trauma, and does little to validate experience of adopters, or challenge a parent blaming culture.

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Tim Davies @timdavies.org.uk · 18/03/2026

As adopters, our kids have often got to the point of needing ongoing or intensive periods of therapeutic support long before they join our families. Tone of government engagement betrayal a desire to avoid that reality...

MacAlister recognised that it is "challenging to get money" from the fund and it's only a short-term support system.

"We need to get to the point where families don't get to this point," he said.

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Tim Davies @timdavies.org.uk · 18/03/2026

The continued failure of DfE Ministers to understand the reality of adoption is deeply disheartening, and their statements feel disingenuous. Adoption & Special Guardianship Support Fund remains cut by 40%+ for individual child with budgets inadequate to fund support www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

MacAlister said that "for too long" the current system had focused on "late-stage crisis intervention rather than getting in early with support without judging you."

He added that he had increased the budget for the Adoption Support Fund in England by 10% this year "so more families can get support", despite it being cut in 2025.

The Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund (ASGSF) provides government money for therapeutic treatment.

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Rachel Coldicutt @rachelcoldicutt.bsky.social · 24/02/2026

I'm facilitating a small group conversation at this event next week - on anticipating the consequences of technology adoption and development. Lots of other great contributors, hope to see you there!

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Tim Davies @timdavies.org.uk · 17/02/2026

Great start to the online day for @pairs.site with a focus on participatory (design) justice and AI, and keeping community in the loop in AI development. Listening from our Hub space in Delhi thanks to JGU Law School.

Photo from room watching PAIRs opening plenary in New Delhi.

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It's a low fi signal, but still gives quite a lot of context. E.g. our recent Generative AI in Education data report is based on approx (n=1050; h=1 - 2) as students only had an hour or two to participate, whereas there are distributed dialogues of (n=1000; h=16) where groups had a weekend

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Was discussing this eve the challenge of getting evidence from deliberation recognised by policymakers. Either it looks easy to dismiss as small n study, or you have to spend a paragraph/slide explaining the method in detail - which doesn't fit into a policy brief or quick policy proof-point.

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Deliberation folk: do we have/need a convention for indicating the 'depth' of deliberation when reporting results. Quant data will report for e.g with (n=1000): gives reader quick sense of how to interpret findings. Should deliberation have (n=37; h=30) for 37 people, 30 hours deliberation each.

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Tim Davies @timdavies.org.uk · 14/02/2026

I'm in Delhi this week for the #IndiaAIImpactSummit and the second edition of our conference on Participatory AI Research and Practice. But @pairs.site is also taking place online on Tuesday. Over travels, and a 🚞 visit to the Taj Mahal yesterday I had a look at some of the 10-minute talks coming up

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Landed in Delhi for #IndiaAIImpactSummit and @pairs.site on Weds, but spent the flight reading papers for our online fringe event, PAIRS, on Tuesday. There is some stonking insight, inspiration and challenge lined up on the day for anyone thinking about how to put people & communities first in AI...

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And with that, my train pulls back into Delhi. I'll be joining the opening sessions of @pairs.site online from.our hub here on Tuesday. If any of the talks pique your interest (they will be put more accessibly than my short/verbose skeets) do join us via Zoom: details at pairs.site

An image of a station through a grubby train window as the dusk falls. Not quite the approach to Delhi: it's already too dark. I promised a thread of high quality participatory AI insight and low quality transit photos. I hope I have delivered. Please complete the feedback form on your seat and leave it on the desk as you leave.

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Central to this is a debate for many of the papers on Wednesday in Delhi: on challenging narrow ideas of democracy as access, or inclusion as inclusion in AI use - and instead looking at how democratic AI is one we can author, audit, refuse, reshape and, in decentralised ways, control.

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A couple of papers dig into multilingual AI across the programme: from Kennedy on taking a decolonial lens and rethinking efforts to train AI in low resourced languages www.pairs.site/No-better-pr... to Pakzad on participatory auditing of multi-lingual AI: www.pairs.site/Participator...

pairs.site

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Revisiting the Participation Gap: Integrating Public Voices in Regulatory Sandbox Frameworks | Notion

Gupta & Parisio's poster was interesting to read after following @datasphere.bsky.social's work on Sandboxes for Data and AI governance. The authors point to way in which Sandboxes miss chance to embed public voice, but highlight them as potential focus for future work www.pairs.site/Revisiting-t...

pairs.site

This session features at PAIRS 2026 Online on 17th February 2026 13:30 UTC. Registered participants will receive zoom links to join the session via e-mail.

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If the papers and slides already shared are anything to go by, PAIRS 2026 Online will be an intense day. But as intense as a week of TukTuk rides and Delhi traffic. I recon it might be a close run thing for anyone who does a full day of PAIRS online: but you can just dip in and out too!

Image of TukTuk in traffic. I didn't capture photos of the really intense bits as I was holding on tight rather than taking shots with my phone.

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