Happy New Year 2025 with a satiric art work

Happy New Year. Hope the year 2025 truly be something that succeeds in making us regain “We The People”.

Very Sorry that we have to share with thou the DCS report so late, or rather it just enough late that we jumped into a new year.

On November 15th and 16th, 2024, at T-Hub in Hyderabad, the Digital Empowerment Foundation held the 8th edition of the Community Network Xchange-Asia Pacific (CNX-APAC) and the 6th Digital Citizen Summit (DCS). The event was a resounding success, according to the foundation. Over 1,600 people registered for the event, and more than 90 speakers from all over South Asia took the stage. The organizers included the Government of Telangana, T-Hub, Internet Society, APNIC Foundation, Association for Progressive Communications, Global Digital Inclusion Partnership, and Centre for Development Policy and Practice. Responsible AI for social good was the central theme of the summit, which aimed to create a future free from data biases, algorithmic unfairness, and the denial of rights owing to inadequate digital infrastructure. Chapters 114 and 115 of typeright will focus on the events and discussions from both the summit and CNX.

"Imagining a Just Future: Intersections of Access, Rights, and AI" was the topic of the first plenary session, and it delved into the complex relationship between AI, digital rights, and access in order to shape a more equal future. Renowned organizations like Digital Green, SFLC, Access Now, Youth Ki Awaaz, Pacta, CDPP, Commons Collective, DFL, POV, and ISEA participated in the two-day event, which included discussions on citizen-centric accountability, access, rights, algorithms, and artificial intelligence. The Telangana Gig Workers and Platforms Union and the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS) are two of the worker unions that have brought attention to the difficulties and consequences of data-driven government on citizens' rights.

Systemic problems with welfare delivery and their effects on basic rights were discussed during the "Mass Digital Exclusion" public hearing. Discussions on how insufficient infrastructure, a lack of accountability, and the exploitation of user data worsened digital exclusion and undermined citizen rights followed a dramatic protest song criticising corruption, exclusion, and governance failures. The session ended with this stunning musical performance.

With the goal of bridging the gender digital divide and providing women with equal access to digital tools and opportunities, the Women in the Digital Economy Fund (WiDEF) has launched its India Round of Grants. Local small and medium-sized organizations and for-profits with proper FCRA registration are eligible to apply for the funds. Access and affordability, appropriate tool development, online safety, cultivating digital literacy and skills, and gender-focused research are the five main areas that WiDEF will fund innovative projects in.

Several publications were released, such as a study on rural women's use of technology for entrepreneurship and empowerment, "Connected Resilience: Gendered Experiences of Meaningful Connectivity through a Global Pandemic," "The Digital Journey to Swaraj," "Navigating through Digital and Social Realities," and "The Journal of Development Policy and Practice."

Despite improvements in optical fiber infrastructure, the subject of the presentation titled "BYTES BEYOND BANDWIDTH (3B on Wheel)" remained the digital divide and the uneven distribution of telecommunication networks. The event's major themes were putting people first in digital transformation and holding governments and businesses to high standards of accountability for their digital policies and initiatives.

                            DAY 1

Inaugural Plenary Session: Imagining a just future; intersections of access, rights and AI

The panelists honed particularly on how digital access, rights, and AI interact with one another. The necessity for citizens to have access to information was brought to light when Osama Manzar voiced worries regarding internet access. The topic of data accountability and its effects on individuals were also brought up by Osama. Women's exclusion from online places is one of the important obstructions towards gender inclusion in the digital sphere. Sonia Jorge brought attention to the gender gap in the availability of public services and technology. Among the intersectional diversity topics covered by Rakshita Swamy were the struggles of the digitally illiterate and gig workers - she stressed on the importance of various ways for citizens to access tools and the necessity for digital systems to be accountable.

Mass Digital Exclusions Affecting People's Fundamental Rights

The problem of widespread digital exclusions impacting people's fundamental rights is one of the focus areas of the 6th Annual Digital Citizen Summit 2024. On that track, this session covered causes of digital exclusion, its effects on vulnerable populations, and possible remedies. Attendees include Soumya Kidambi, Siddhesh Gautam, and Anshu Tawari.

In this session, we will look at the difficulties that NREGA employees in outlying locations have encountered as a result of the technological demands of the NMS online attendance system. Workers' livelihoods and income payments could be jeopardized because the system prioritizes attendance hours over actual labor done.
A female student from Bhilwara, Rajasthan, Neha Salvi, 23, has been struggling to track her attendance since the NMMS was implemented. Although the NMMS system was designed to make NREGA implementation easier, it has brought about unforeseen effects that are causing inefficiency and workers may face financial challenges. Drones will be used to monitor NREGA construction sites in the future, while the NMMS app will use Aadhaar data for real-time attendance tracking through face authentication.

Drones will be used to keep an eye on NREGA construction sites in the future, and the NMMS app will use the Aadhaar database for real-time attendance tracking and pilot programs to try facial authentication. Narayan Lal, Meera Devi, and J. Kondababu are among those whose names will be removed from NREGA at this session; they have all been refused pensions because their eKYC paperwork is insufficient. The effects of digital exclusion on people's basic rights and the necessity for more accessible and inclusive procedures for the elderly are brought to light by these instances.
The government's priorities include rooting out corruption and forgeries and identifying and removing "Ghost" beneficiaries from schemes. RTI results disproved the Prime Minister's assertion that Aadhaar and technology had uncovered over four crore fake ration cards. "Workers included and deleted over five financial years as a percentage of registered workers" is a graph that displays the varying trend in worker inclusion and deletion rates over five years.
An individual's ability to receive financial services might be hindered by the difficulties they encounter in fulfilling eKYC requirements; the story of Pachathi Singh, a 57-year-old resident of the Latehar and Lohardaga districts of Jharkhand illustrates this. To promote financial inclusion, safeguard personal information, and do away with paper documents altogether, the Aadhaar e-KYC service is entirely digital. Complying with applicable standards and laws, the service is automated and offers KYC data in real-time.
Sixty per cent of the 244 households questioned in Jharkhand had at least one bank account frozen due to unfinished eKYC procedures, which might have serious consequences for many people's ability to access and spend their money.

Harnessing AI for the Smallholders

Personalized farming advice, market access, and financial inclusion were the three main points of the panel discussion on smallholder farmers' use of AI. Discussion topics included ecosystem collaboration, micro-LLM (localized AI models), and the development of AI in farming. Additionally, they spoke about how they were building Farmer.Chat, an AI-powered platform that allows extension agents to give tailored farming recommendations. Their main point was the need for open data ecosystems to facilitate cooperation between researchers, farmers, and politicians, and the dangers of relying too much on GenAI. In addition, they introduced DIGRA, an open-access platform for studying climate-smart agricultural practices, and they emphasized the potential of AI in improving climate resilience and sustainability in agriculture.

They also brought attention to the special difficulties encountered by women farmers, who work 70–90% of the time in agriculture yet often do not have the tools and education necessary to do their jobs well. Integrating data, promoting digital inclusiveness, taking action against climate change, and focusing on gender are key considerations for AI systems. The speakers also brought up a necessity for AI solutions that address the specific challenges faced by women farmers.

GenAI and Disinformation: Let's Focus on Platforms, Not People

The impact of AI on disseminating disinformation and manipulating electoral processes was a topic of discussion at the 6th Digital Citizens Summit 2024. Campaign content created with AI tended to promote candidates rather than criticize their opponents. Voters' ability to recognize false news is improving, but the sheer volume of AI-generated disinformation is cause for alarm. False information has been circulating for a long time, even before artificial intelligence (AI) came into being, as pointed out by journalist Supriya Sharma.

Muslim population expansion in Bihar, sectarian tensions in Bangladesh, and the Adivasi community in Jharkhand were some of the susceptible communities that were targeted by disinformation efforts during the recent elections. Donald Trump's statements about election fraud in the 2021 US elections spread false information and damaged faith in the democratic process. Governments are passing laws to control disinformation, but there is a chance that they may be abused.
Verifying information is insufficient. Although Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube have implemented labels to indicate when content is generated by artificial intelligence, these measures do not fully address the issue. The choices that individuals make, such the strategies employed by social media companies that profit from sensationalized information, are the root of the problem.
Participation from civil society and experts in policymaking was encouraged, as was the use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools to identify disinformation, with human oversight to address biases and guarantee effective implementation. The panel also suggested that governments should establish regulations that target harmful content without violating free speech, and that NGOs and CSOs should be supported in developing awareness campaigns that address community challenges and local contexts. Educating, equipping, and enabling people to properly navigate the digital age is just as important as technology in building a better information environment.

Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence (TFGBV)

Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence (TFGBV) was a hot topic at the Digital Citizen Summit on November 15, 2024. This issue affects millions of people around the world. American University in Dubai (USAID) experts Lauren Grubbs and Hayley Pottle discussed the many manifestations of cyberbullying and the critical need to strengthen protections for all users, but especially young people, members of the LGBTQI+ community, and women. The term "tech-facilitated gender-based violence" (TFGBV) refers to acts of violence that target women, girls, and non-conforming people and are perpetrated, aided, intensified, or amplified through digital platforms. The situation has been worsened by the emergence of generative AI; 96% of deepfakes contain sexual content that does not involve consent. One study found that 30% of female journalists reported self-censoring after becoming victims of online abuse, indicating that TFGBV discourages women from being active in public life. As a result of a lack of knowledge about technology and concerns about being a victim of cyberbullying, women are unable to fully utilize the digital tools available to them, creating what is known as the Gender Digital Divide (GDD). Funds for Women in the Digital Economy (WiDEF) and other all-encompassing plans are necessary to fight TFGBV.

Predictive Policing

The increasing dependence on predictive policing—an approach that forecasts crime through algorithms—was explored in this panel discussion by researchers Mrinalini Ravindranath and Anvesh Baghi. In his critique, Ravindranath claimed that predictive policing serves to perpetuate existing inequalities, highlighting the impact of colonial biases and caste systems. She brought attention to the fact that databases have historically focused on underrepresented groups; for example, current police practice continues to be influenced by historical records of nomadic tribes that were formerly assumed to be born criminals.

To avoid unjustified criminalization or indefinite surveillance, Baghi called for stricter data privacy regulations and more openness in creating and using predictive policing systems. He said that community solutions, not tech-driven monitoring, should be prioritized, and biased tools like apps that allow indefinite suspect tracking should be dismantled.
With caste being a key factor in deciding who is targeted by these tools, both panelists concurred that predictive policing is neither neutral nor progressive; rather, it reinforces systemic imbalances. In addition, they advocated for social initiatives to take precedence over predictive policing and eliminate caste-based disparities.
The group's final verdict was that predictive policing is more of a contemporary take on control techniques used during the colonial era than a promising new approach to crime prevention. Both speakers on the panel stressed the need of being vigilant and actively challenging these systems to bring about a society that values equity and justice more than technological comfort.

India's Digital Capitalism

Topics covered in the event included platformization, datafication, and the social and economic effects of India's shift to digital capitalism. Particularly via the gig economy and AI, it highlighted how digital platforms have affected labor markets, monopolistic tendencies, and the global economy. The change heightens concerns around safety, privacy, union representation, and hazards to employees (especially those on the lowest end of the spectrum). Twenty percent of India's GDP must be digital by 2028, according to the country's digital economy targets; nevertheless, regional differences will likely remain. Rapid expansion at industry leaders like TCS, Infosys, and Reliance Jio had been a significant boon to India's digital capital. Some suggestions include bringing more attention to the issue, finding a middle ground between empowering and exploiting people, and tackling inequality by implementing regulations that spread the advantages of digital growth more evenly.

AI and Public Policy

Regulation, ethics, inclusion, and sustainability were some of the topics covered at the session as it relates to artificial intelligence and public policy. The three models of artificial intelligence governance that the panelists explored were self-regulation, co-regulation, and state regulation. Concerns about sustainability, generative AI, and the EU's risk-based approach were emphasized. Furthermore, they spoke about AI system inclusivity and biases, proposing diversity by design as a solution to dataset biases. The importance of human-AI collaboration, user-centric AI, and openness and trust in AI decision-making were also emphasized. Also, they brought attention to the conflict between innovation and over-regulation, urging for policies that strike a balance between the two to promote growth while minimizing harm. In addition, the panelists emphasized the importance of inclusive datasets that reflect marginalized groups when discussing data ownership and inclusivity. In addition, they highlighted the need of trust as a base and of co-creational processes in which individuals reap the benefits of their data together. They suggested several measures to address the issue, including human-in-the-loop procedures for AI applications with a high risk factor, collaborative governance, training sessions, and co-creational methods for handling data usage and ownership. A consensus on the need of application-specific regulations, as opposed to general limits, was reached during the session's conclusion.

                              DAY 2

Rights, not Ratings

Gig workers' rights were a major topic during the 6th Digital Citizens Summit, with speakers addressing issues such data ownership, unsafe working conditions, and the absence of unionized labor protections. At the session's outset, participants were asked to list the advantages of working in the gig economy, including having a side hustle, being productive, and having quick access to customers. But the truth soon became apparent: gig workers have nowhere to turn for representation and are instead subject to the whims of the platforms' algorithms and policies.

Gig workers also had to deal with the overemphasis on ratings, arbitrary reductions from their salaries, and unexpected tax obligations. The pandemic lockdowns worsened their problems since they were under even more pressure to achieve lofty goals, which affected their emotional and physical well-being.
Addressing the physical toll of high targets and long hours, as well as data ownership rights, unionizing, and better working conditions, were among the measures presented by the speakers. Health and safety improvements, more frequent checkups, and funding for non-traditional means of subsistence were among demands.
According to the session's final call to action, we need improved health and safety standards, more openness about wages and data usage, unions to represent gig workers, more support for alternative income prospects, and more transparency in these areas. Something wise was remarked by an orator: "We don't just need ratings to survive, we need our rights to thrive."

AI and the Environment

The energy and water consumption of AI technologies, the exponential increase in computational capacity needed for AI, the environmental footprint of data centers, and the social ramifications of these technologies were the primary topics of the panel discussion on the environmental aspects of AI. A socially inclusive and equitable approach is necessary to tackle these difficulties, according to panelists Deepak Krishnan, Professor Radhika Krishnan, Amrita Sengupta, and Ananya Bhattacharya.

Amrita Sengupta laid up a systematic approach to comprehending how AI interacts with environmental issues, drawing attention to the necessity to tackle behaviors that consume a lot of resources while yet fostering innovation. The disparity between the promise of AI and its effects on vulnerable populations was brought to light by Ananya Bhattacharya, who moved the conversation to the social and human aspects of AI's influence on the environment, emphasising India.
While recognizing AI's increasing importance in data interpretation in India, Professor Radhika Krishnan discussed the wider societal and digital changes AI produces. She urged lawmakers to ensure AI development is inclusive and fair by classifying disruptions as social or digital.
Deepak Krishnan offered a policy-oriented viewpoint, concentrating on how businesses might coordinate AI research and development with ecological and social concerns. Adoption of clean technology, transparency, localized approaches, effective policy enforcement, and community-level planning were the five main points he made to mitigate AI's negative effects on the environment.
There was unanimous agreement among the panelists on the critical need of openness and diversity in policymaking as they all recognized the critical need to tackle the environmental impact of AI technology. Proactively using renewable energy sources for AI infrastructures is one solution. Another is to build sustainable data centers. Policies should be localized and inclusive. More transparency and accountability is another. And lastly, more participatory decision-making processes should be encouraged.

Reports/Book Launches

Celebrating the Transformative Journey of Becoming Digital Change Leaders: Imprints of Change – The Digital Journey to Swaraj Book Launch, Edited by Dr. Arpita Kanjilal and Ashwini Shah

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Navigating Through Digital and Social Realities: Stories of Struggle, Hope and Resilience Edited by Anuska Roy, Siddharth Shankar and Ritika Bhatia