Democratic Commons:

Audrey Tang is Taiwan’s Cyber Ambassador and served as Taiwan's 1st digital minister and the world’s 1st nonbinary cabinet minister. In her 20s, Tang rose to prominence as a leader in free and open-source software, revitalizing the Haskell and Perl programming languages. During her 30s, Tang played a crucial role in shaping g0v (gov-zero), one of the most prominent civic tech movements worldwide. In 2014, she helped broadcast the demands of Sunflower Movement activists, and worked to resolve conflicts during a three-week occupation of Taiwan’s Legislature. Tang became a reverse mentor to the minister in charge of digital participation, before holding the role in 2016. Tang helped develop participatory democracy platforms such as vTaiwan and Join, bringing civic innovation into the public sector through initiatives like the Presidential Hackathon and Ideathon. Other accomplishments for Tang include shaping Taiwan’s internationally acclaimed COVID-19 response, as well as safeguarding the country’s 2024 presidential and legislative elections from cyber interference.

Full Professor in the Political Science department at Yale University and a Faculty Fellow with Yale’s Institute for Social and Policy Studies (ISPS), where she lead a research agenda on Citizens' Assemblies within Democratic Innovations, a new ISPS program designed to identify and test ideas for improving the quality of democratic representation and governance. Since 2022, she is a Distinguished Researcher at the Institute for Ethics in AI at the University of Oxford. In 2022-23, she served on the governance board of the French citizens’ convention on end of life organized by the CESE (Economic, Social and Environmental Council).

Yochai Benkler is the Berkman Professor of Entrepreneurial Legal Studies at Harvard Law School and the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University.Since the 1990s he has played a role in characterizing the role of information commons and decentralized collaboration to innovation, information production, and freedom in the networked economy and society. His books include Network Propaganda: Manipulation, Disinformation, and Radicalization in American Politics (Oxford University Press 2018) and The Wealth of Networks: How social production transforms markets and freedom (Yale University Press 2006), which won academic awards from the American Political Science Association, the American Sociological Association, and the McGannon award for social and ethical relevance in communications. In 2012 he received a lifetime achievement award from Oxford University “in recognition of his extraordinary contribution to the study and public understanding of the Internet and information goods.”

Karine Perset is the Acting Head of the OECD AI and Emerging Digital Technologies Division, where she oversees the OECD.AI Policy Observatory, the Global Partnership on AI (GPAI) & integrated network of experts as well as the OECD Global Forum on Emerging Technologies. She oversees the development of analysis, policies and tools inline with the OECD AI Principles. She also helps governments manage the opportunities and challenges that AI and emerging technologies raise for governments. Previously she was Advisor to ICANN’s Governmental Advisory Committee and Counsellor of the OECD’s Science, Technology and Industry Director. Karine is French-American.

Raja Chatila is Professor emeritus at Sorbonne Université. He is former Director of the Institute of Intelligent Systems and Robotics (ISIR) and of the Laboratory of Excellence “SMART” on human-machine interaction. He was director of LAAS-CNRS, Toulouse France, in 2007-2010. His research covers several aspects of Robotics in robot navigation and SLAM, motion planning and control, cognitive and control architectures, human-robot interaction, machine learning, and ethics. He  works on robotics projects in the areas of service, field, aerial and space robotics. He is author of over 170 international publications on these topics. Current and recent projects: HumanE AI Net the network of excellence of AI centers in Europe, AI4EU promoting AI in Europe,  AVETHICS on the ethics of automated vehicle decisions, Roboergosum on robot self-awareness and Spencer on human-robot interaction in populated environments. He was President of the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society for the term 2014-2015. He is co-chair of the Responsible AI Working group in the Global Partnership on AI (GPAI) and member of the French National Pilot Committee for Digital Ethics (CNPEN). He is chair of the IEEE Global Initiative on Ethics of Autonomous and Intelligent Systems. He was member of the High Level Expert Group in AI with the European Commission (HLEG-AI).

As a Principal at Omidyar Network, she leads the organization's efforts to promote responsible technology and digital rights. Barsa has extensive experience in international development and conflict resolution, having previously worked with organizations like Inclusive Security and the United States Institute of Peace. Her work focuses on leveraging technology to strengthen democratic processes and ensure that AI development aligns with democratic values. Barsa has been instrumental in fostering collaborations between tech companies, civil society organizations, and governments to address the challenges posed by AI to democratic institutions. Her expertise in both democracy-building and technology governance makes her a valuable voice in shaping policies that promote ethical AI development and deployment.

Constance de Leusse serves as the Senior Advisor of the AI & Society Institute (university of ENS-PSL), and of the Tech Hub of the Paris School of International Affairs (university of Sciences Po). She is also a Senior Fellow at the European University Institute. Previously, she held executive positions in the nonprofit sector including the French government, The Internet Society and UNESCO.

Josef Lentsch is the Founder and CEO of Europe’s first Political Tech Summit. From 2019- 2023, he was Partner and Chief Innovation Officer at the Innovation in Politics Institute, where he initiated the European Capital of Democracy. In 2012, he was a co-founder and founding board member of NEOS, a political party in Austria. In 2014, he became Founding Director of NEOS Lab, the party’s think and do tank. Before that, he worked as Director International at the Royal Society of Arts in London. In 2019, Springer published his book “Political Entrepreneurship”. Josef lives in Berlin with his family. He holds an MSc in Psychology from the University of Vienna, and an MPA in Public Administration from Harvard University.