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The Politics of Knowledge in the AI Age: Empowering Human Agency through Standards, Human Rights, and the Role of Corporations

International Telecommunication Union, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and Harvard Kennedy School Carr-Ryan Center

Session 395

Thursday, 9 July 2026 ∼ 10:00–10:45 (UTC+02:00) Physical (on-site) and Virtual (remote) participation Room E, Palexpo Interactive Session
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Physical (on-site) and Virtual (remote) participation

Artificial intelligence and data-driven technologies are reshaping not only economies and public services, but the politics of knowledge itself: what can be known, who controls that knowledge, and how it is used to shape individual and collective behavior.

Knowledge distribution and diffusion are increasingly mediated by digital infrastructures that are often privately governed. This triggers a debate about the information environment and how it relates to human rights. In this context, technical standards play a pivotal yet often overlooked role. By shaping data flows, system architectures, interoperability, identity frameworks, content moderation mechanisms, and algorithmic design choices, standards effectively determine how knowledge is produced, circulated, and constrained at scale. 

Standards are not neutral: while commonly perceived as purely technical instruments, they increasingly function as infrastructures of governance, influencing power over knowledge and decision-making, with profound implications for human agency, and human rights – such as free expression, access to information, privacy but also freedom of opinion and thought.

This panel explores how AI and technical standards intersect with the politics of knowledge, how they may unintentionally reinforce asymmetries of power, and how human-rights-based approaches to standardization can help realign technical design with democratic values and human rights. The role of the private sector is key here for at least two reasons: first, because companies engage and shape technical standards in standard-development organizations and consortia; and second because these companies also use and adapt to these technical standards. In this sense, it’s useful to coordinate companies’ engagement with a human rights approach, focusing on the UNGPs, and also to understand how human rights and tech standards teams in companies can cooperate to foster a rights-respecting knowledge environment.

Panellists
Eng. Olivier Alais
Eng. Olivier Alais Program Coordinator ITU Moderator

Olivier Alais works at the intersection of technology, governance, and human rights, with 20 years of experience across the United Nations, development agencies, and consulting.

At the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), he leads efforts to embed human rights into AI governance, technical standards, and emerging technologies. He also serves as a Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Carr Center, where he advances research on rights in digital governance.

Previously, he directed major digital programs with the French Development Agency, the World Bank, and USAID, and founded Soukeina, a digital advisory firm delivering projects across Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

His work focuses on building trustworthy, rights-based, and future-ready digital ecosystems that align innovation with equity and accountability.

Dr. Isabel Ebert
Dr. Isabel Ebert Adviser & Co-Lead of the B-Tech Project OHCHR

Isabel Ebert is an advisor at the B-Tech Project at UN Human Rights on Business & Human Rights in the technology sector and a member of the OECD AI Group of Experts.

She is also a visiting lecturer at the University of St. Gallen on digital policy and responsible business conduct.

Isabel has been a Technology and Human Rights Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School’s Carr Center and a visiting doctoral researcher at the Oxford Internet Institute. She served as the EU Representative of the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, based in London and holds a PhD in Business Ethics with a focus on technology governance from the University of St. Gallen.

Mr. Joël Christoph
Mr. Joël Christoph Technology and Human Rights Fellow Harvard Kennedy School Carr-Ryan Center

Joel Christoph is a political economist working on AI governance, technical standards, and human rights. His research examines how standards and AI regulation shape privacy, free expression, and access to information, including recent work proposing a minimal standard for AI provenance and contestability. He has held fellowships at the Centre for the Governance of AI and at Harvard Kennedy School's Carr-Ryan Center for Human Rights Policy, and is a fellow in Globethics' Emerging Leaders in Ethical AI Governance programme. His commentary on AI governance and the EU AI Act has appeared in Lawfare, Tech Policy Press, and the World Economic Forum.

Ms. Jenna Omassi
Ms. Jenna Omassi Public Policy Manager, Global Institution Engagement TikTok

Jenna Omassi is a Public Policy Manager at TikTok where she leads engagement and partnerships with multilateral institutions. She has almost a decade of experience in international technology, security and foreign policy. Prior to working at TikTok, Jenna worked at Ofcom, the UK's communications regulator, and the Government of Canada.

Mr. Jacobo Castellanos
Mr. Jacobo Castellanos Coordinator of the Technology, Threats, and Opportunities team Witness

Jacobo Castellanos coordinates the Technology, Threats, and Opportunities team at WITNESS, a global human rights organization supporting communities using video and technology to expose injustice. He examines how emerging technologies, including generative AI and manipulated media, affect the safety, credibility, and agency of people documenting abuses. Jacobo also co-chairs the Threats and Harms Task Force of the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity (C2PA), which develops open standards for verifiable digital content provenance. His work brings a human rights lens to technical design, governance, and advocacy, informed by consultations with grassroots groups, journalists, activists, and technologists worldwide.

Topics
Artificial Intelligence Big Data Capacity Building Cybersecurity Digital Divide Digital Economy Digital Inclusion Digital Transformation Emerging Technologies Ethics Global Digital Compact (GDC) Human Rights Infrastructure WSIS+20 Review
WSIS Action Lines
  • AL C1 logo C1. The role of governments and all stakeholders in the promotion of ICTs for development
  • AL C3 logo C3. Access to information and knowledge
  • AL C4 logo C4. Capacity building
  • AL C5 logo C5. Building confidence and security in use of ICTs
  • AL C6 logo C6. Enabling environment
  • AL C9 logo C9. Media
  • AL C10 logo C10. Ethical dimensions of the Information Society
  • AL C11 logo C11. International and regional cooperation

This session directly contributes to the WSIS Action Lines by examining how artificial intelligence, data-driven technologies, and technical standards shape the production, circulation, and control of knowledge in the information society. It is particularly relevant to Action Line C3, as it addresses access to information and knowledge in digital environments increasingly mediated by private platforms, algorithmic systems, and technical infrastructures.

The session also contributes to C1 and C11 by bringing together international organizations, academia, civil society, and the private sector to discuss shared responsibilities in AI governance and standardization. It relates to C5, C6, and C10 by exploring how trust, security, ethical considerations, and human rights can be embedded in standards and governance frameworks. Finally, it connects with C9 by addressing the broader information environment, including content moderation, knowledge distribution, and the implications of algorithmic systems for freedom of expression, access to information, privacy, and freedom of thought.

 

Sustainable Development Goals
  • Goal 4 logo Goal 4: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
  • Goal 9 logo Goal 9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote sustainable industrialization and foster innovation
  • Goal 10 logo Goal 10: Reduce inequality within and among countries
  • Goal 16 logo Goal 16: Promote just, peaceful and inclusive societies
  • Goal 17 logo Goal 17: Revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development

The session supports the Sustainable Development Goals by addressing how AI governance and technical standards can either reduce or reinforce inequalities in access to information, knowledge, and decision-making power. By focusing on human agency, human rights, and the politics of knowledge in the AI age, the session contributes to SDG 10 and SDG 16, particularly in relation to inclusive societies, accountable governance, and respect for fundamental freedoms.

The discussion also supports SDG 9 by examining the role of technical standards in shaping digital infrastructures and innovation ecosystems. It contributes to SDG 4 by promoting understanding of how knowledge is produced and circulated in AI-mediated environments. Finally, the multi-stakeholder nature of the session, involving ITU, OHCHR, academia, civil society, and the private sector, directly supports SDG 17 by encouraging partnerships for responsible and rights-respecting digital transformation.

GDC Objectives
  • Objective 1: Close all digital divides and accelerate progress across the Sustainable Development Goals
  • Objective 3: Foster an inclusive, open, safe and secure digital space that respects, protects and promotes human rights
  • Objective 4: Advance responsible, equitable and interoperable data governance approaches
  • Objective 5: Enhance international governance of artificial intelligence for the benefit of humanity