Empowering Civil Society to Shape AI use in Public Services

We are launching an open conversation to co-create a shared agenda for civil society influence on AI governance in the public sector 

AI is increasingly shaping our world, including how public services are delivered - from education and healthcare to policing and welfare. While civil society organisations (CSOs) are already responding by surfacing harms, advocating for rights, engaging in policy, and demanding accountability, their influence often remains limited. 

While the 2025 AI Action Summit was an initial step towards the inclusion of the non-profit sector in AI governance, many CSOs left with a shared feeling: our voices were included, but our impact was limited. Closed off decision-making spaces, limited human and financial resources, lacking skills and capacity to intervene, and  fragmentation of efforts within civil society make it difficult for this important stakeholder to sit at the governance table as an equal party. 

We want to contribute to existing civil society efforts by providing a dedicated space to reflect – to understand where we are, where we want to go, and how we get there together.  

We believe it’s time to come together and co-create shared understanding! That’s why we’re launching: 

You are invited to take part in a first-of-its-kind online co-creation on how AI is governed and used in public services.

Why now? 

This initiative emerged as a voluntary, best-efforts collaboration among researchers and participatory AI governance practitioners, following the Participatory AI Research & Practice Symposium on the side-lines of the 2025 Paris AI Action Summit. 

The Summit highlighted a persistent gap: while civil society was visible, its influence remained limited. The Power to Shape AI conversation responds to the need for increased CSO influence by offering a space for reflection and collective sense-making – at the halfway point between the Paris and India AI Action Summits. 

Recognising that the future of AI is shaped by both global and local action, for this first dialogue we will focus discussions on questions of how AI is being used and governed to deliver public services. We hope this will help us identify common challenges and messages, and understand different aspects of governing AI for particular countries and communities.   

Our conversation aims to highlight not only the challenges we face but also our existing efforts and the power of our actions. Civil society has a critical role in setting the agenda for and meaningfully participating in the governance of AI in public services, so that the voices of citizens are heard and included, and so that AI in public services delivery responds to real-world needs in a just, inclusive and democratic way. 

In response, Power to Shape: CSO Voices on AI offers a space for anonymous and asynchronous discussion from the 23rd May to the 6th June: 

🟣 A moment to take stock, share your views, reflect on the views of others 

🟣 A space to build on existing strengths and share best practice 

🟣 An enabling environment to co-create a shared framework for action  

The Power to Shape AI conversation is one contribution to the wide and important work that civil society is driving around the world, but it is not a replacement of our individual and collective efforts. Instead, it is a space for CSOs to continue discussions, learn from one another, and shape an agenda that’s rooted in public interest and democratic values. 

What the Conversation will produce 

This conversation won’t end with a polished policy package or a ready-made toolkit. That’s not the goal. 

Instead, Power to Shape AI is about a moment to surface and synthesise knowledge that already exists across civil society, giving it visibility, building common understanding and awareness around it, and setting the foundations of what a broad, collective civil society effort could look like. Together, we’ll contribute to growing the knowledge commons on public interest AI governance. 

Our aim is to sketch out a framework and agenda for action, grounded in what civil society is already doing, seeing, and struggling with in real time. 

The findings will be shared back with all participants, published in an open-access academic paper and, if successful, presented at a multistakeholder workshop within the UNESCO Global Forum on the Ethics of AI 2025 and/or other similar conferences. But more importantly, they’ll be shared openly to feed into future work, collaborations, and advocacy efforts across our networks. And you can use them too! 

How the Conversation works 

Power to Shape is not a webinar. It’s also not a consultation or a survey. It’s an active, asynchronous, facilitated conversation hosted on a platform designed by Clever Together, tailored for safe, large-scale participation. 

🟣 Anonymous by design You’ll share ideas without names attached, reducing bias and reactive devaluation, and encouraging honest reflection. Ideas are judged on their merit, not the organisation or person behind them. 

🟣 Join when it works for you You can contribute in as little as 15 minutes or return over time to comment, reflect, and vote on what resonates. This flexibility makes space for deeper thought and real co-creation. We encourage you to chime in on 23 May and come back again, if you want to deepen your contribution. 

🟣 Curated for civil society To protect the integrity of the space, only non-profit civil society organisations, research institutes and academics are invited to participate. No funders, no public bodies, no corporate actors – just peers committed to shaping AI in the public interest. 

🟣 Human-led facilitation We rely on human-powered analysis for human-shared data. Our team will make sense of the insights shared, identifying common challenges, creative strategies, and priorities for action.  

Who should join

We welcome civil society organisations of all shapes and sizes and from all geographies – whether you’re focused on digital rights, social justice, governance, health, education, or any public services area where AI is beginning to play a role. If you are an academic working on democratic, ethical, and human rights aligned application of AI in public services delivery, you are also welcome. 

Basically, if you’ve seen the impacts of AI or want to influence how it’s used, you belong in this conversation! 

Sign up, share, and help shape what comes next 

📅 Launches 23 May with a dynamic half-day session 

💬 Remains open until 06 June for further input, voting, and exchange 

⏱️ Give as little as 15 minutes or return to go deeper 

🔗 Sign up now at www.powertoshapeai.com 

Together, we can transform our insights into a shared action agenda and build a stronger, more coordinated civil society voice on AI governance in public services.