Between 16 and 18 July 2024, Diplo delivered a summer school programme on AI and digital governance for a group of 22 students from the Beijing Institute of Technology (School of Global Governance and School of Management).
The three-day programme combined lectures on digital technology and governance issues with simulations and exercises. Students learnt how the internet and AI function, which business models underpin the internet, and what key policy and governance issues are on the international diplomatic agenda nowadays.
During the simulation, participants put themselves in the shoes of diplomats negotiating the Global Digital Compact (GDC): Teams representing the African Union, Brazil, the Caribbean Community, China, the European Union, and the USA debated GDC provisions related to AI governance. Throughout the negotiations, AI assistants were made available to each team to support them in developing and strengthening their negotiation positions. AI also served as a pedagogical tool: By interacting with their AI advisors, students got to explore the benefits and challenges of using AI (which they reflected critically on at the end of the school).
In another exercise, students explored the relations between the African Union and the European Union, China, and the USA, respectively, as they relate to digital governance issues.
