Merrin Muhammed Ashraf

The current AI innovation paradigm is driven by large-scale extraction and (mis)appropriation of creative and cultural resources into proprietary AI systems. As AI systems increasingly mediate cultural production and information access, questions of who controls these knowledge infrastructures have become increasingly urgent. These developments…

Current debates in the AI context turn to prevailing Intellectual Property (IP) frameworks and their applicability to the AI moment. Yet, this only intensifies the crisis of the knowledge commons. As experts have noted, on the one hand, copyright frameworks and their ‘fair use’ exemptions may not be fit-for-purpose to deal with questions of…

On behalf of IT for Change, Merrin Muhammed Ashraf submitted comments on the recently released OECD Draft Recommendations on Information Integrity. The draft Recommendation aims to provide guidance for policy makers to promote information integrity in line with the universal human rights of freedom of opinion and expression.

IT for…

In August 2024, IT for Change responded to the Office of the Secretary-General's Envoy on Technology's AI Opportunity Scan. The scan was meant to gather respondents' expectations for AI’s positive impact in terms of scientific breakthroughs, economic activities and the SDGs. The survey asked only about possible positive implications of AI.…

On behalf of IT for Change, Merrin Muhammed Ashraf submitted comments on the recently released UNESCO Consultation Paper on Regulatory Approaches for Artificial Intelligence (AI). The Consultation Paper is part of a broader effort by UNESCO, the Inter-Parliamentary Union, and the Internet Governance Forum’s Parliamentary Track to engage…

IT for Change's Merrin Muhammed Ashraf participated in the virtual consultation convened by the co-facilitators of the Global Digital Compact on 22 August 2024 and delivered a statement on Rev 3.0 GDC on behalf of IT for Change and the Global Digital Justice Forum. The statement flagged some critical gaps in the text of the GDC which must be…

As the UN Secretary-General observed in 2023, the crisis of information integrity on digital platforms cannot be addressed without effectively tackling the role of platforms in spreading “gender-based hate speech and disinformation that seek to systematically subjugate women by silencing them and pushing them out of the public sphere.” The…

IT for Change's Executive Director Anita Gurumurthy and Research Associate Merrin Muhammad Ashraf submitted a response to the Office of the Secretary-General's Envoy on Technology's (OSET) AI Risk Pulse Check survey as part of a horizon-scanning exercise on AI. The purpose of the Pulse check is to understand AI risks globally, as well as fine…

The UN Secretary-General’s High-Level Advisory Body on Artificial Intelligence (AIAB) published an interim report on Governing AI for Humanity in December 2023. The initial proposal aimed to strengthen the international governance of AI by carrying out seven critical functions, which would contribute to reaching the Sustainable Development…

The Global Digital Compact (GDC) is a framework for international digital cooperation that is currently being negotiated as an annex to the Pact for the Future, an intergovernmental agreement that seeks to “build a multilateral system that delivers for everyone, everywhere” with concrete actions towards…