The Monoculture Problem in Artificial Intelligence
University of Florida (UFL), Geneva School of Diplomacy
Session 374
As AI systems converge on a narrow set of architectures, training datasets, and embedded value assumptions, they increasingly reproduce a single way of seeing the world — an epistemic monoculture in which the languages, knowledge systems, and conceptions of personhood of much of the world, including across Africa and Asia, are treated as edge cases rather than as sources of resilience. Drawing on the lesson of ecological monocultures, which trade short-term efficiency for long-term fragility, this panel argues that epistemic and cultural diversity is not a matter of inclusion but a structural condition for AI safety — and a question of epistemic sovereignty for the nations least represented in how these systems are built.
Bringing together perspectives from diplomacy, multilateral governance, defense and security, and AI ethics research, the session asks how global AI governance might move from a logic of access to one of alignment: from widening who can use these systems toward shaping whose values, languages, and ways of knowing they encode. Panelists will examine what epistemic sovereignty would require in practice, where homogenization creates correlated and system-wide risk, and what concrete governance steps could counter monoculture over the next two years.
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C3. Access to information and knowledge
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C8. Cultural diversity and identity, linguistic diversity and local content
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Goal 4: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
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Goal 8: Promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work for all
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Goal 10: Reduce inequality within and among countries
- Objective 1: Close all digital divides and accelerate progress across the Sustainable Development Goals
- Objective 2: Expand inclusion in and benefits from the digital economy for all
- Objective 5: Enhance international governance of artificial intelligence for the benefit of humanity