The Principle of Common Heritage of Mankind in Artificial Intelligence Technologies on the Agenda
OpenAI's proposal to transfer a portion of its company value to the public has accelerated discussions on the application of international law principles in the field of artificial intelligence.
The model proposed by OpenAI, which envisions dedicating five percent of company value for the public good, has brought to the agenda discussions that the principle of the common heritage of mankind can be applied to artificial intelligence efforts.
Proposal for Public Equity Transfer
In the announcement made by OpenAI, it was stated that five percent of the company value is aimed to be transferred to the public, inspired by the Alaska Permanent Fund model, and to provide resource-based annual dividends.
Within the framework of this proposal, other artificial intelligence developers such as Anthropic and Google DeepMind are also envisaged to contribute at similar rates and for the public to obtain financial interest in the development of artificial intelligence.
Common Heritage in International Law
This mindset shows parallels with the principle of the common heritage of mankind, which is included in international law and was proposed for ocean floors in 1967 by Maltese diplomat Arvid Pardo.
Pardo's approach stipulated that resources should not be subject to national ownership, should be managed internationally, shared fairly, and used for peaceful purposes.
Core Resources of Artificial Intelligence
Although artificial intelligence is developed with private and public capital, the main raw material of the system consists of literature, scientific achievements, the open web, and user inputs accumulated by humanity over centuries.
This perspective brings with it a common heritage framework supported by early international governance institutions such as the Global Digital Compact and the Independent International Scientific Panel on AI.
Global Regulation and Future Prospects
Even though the implementation of these principles may face criticism in terms of the free market and great power competition, historical precedents show that benefit sharing and private enterprise can coexist.
A draft resolution in the United Nations General Assembly recognizing artificial intelligence as the common heritage of mankind could provide a moral core that can guide fragmented global regulatory initiatives.