Nepal president Dr. Ram Baran Yadav and conference organizers at the 2009 World AI Conference.
Conference strengthens global AI community
Discussions include evolving the AI Commons for the next generation
Friday December 4, 2009 -- Michelle Strutzenberger
The 2009 World Appreciative Inquiry (AI) Conference has laid the groundwork for connecting the global AI community in stronger, more innovative ways, says conference co-chair Lindsey Godwin.

Godwin says she has never witnessed such a globally diverse group engaged in telling their stories, sharing their questions and collaborating around AI and strength-based practices.

Conference co-chair Dhruba Acharya agrees, adding he gathered that the collaboration and dialogue at the conference had “nourished” and inspired people in a way that gives him “much hope for the future.”

“I think people really connected and there was some groundwork laid in relationships across the globe that hasn’t happened before,” Godwin says.

These new relationships are going to be vital in continuing to build the AI community at a global scale, she adds, noting this work includes, in part, advancing a set of initiatives that gained some traction at the conference.

One of these is the development of a new global AI multiversity.

Another is the evolvement of the existing AI Commons, a worldwide portal devoted to sharing academic resources and practical tools on AI and the discipline of positive change.

During the conference David Cooperrider, an AI thought leader and a professor at the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, led a dreaming and design session on making the current AI Commons more useful and relevant to the next generation.

The discussion focused on the new connectivity tools and interactive technologies that could be implemented.

Ideas that were explored include online talk shows, as well as a platform for bringing people together virtually to collaborate on an AI project.

“There are all sorts of different ideas in terms of how do we share resources and then, again, really take advantage of social media and technologies that would allow us to connect in real synchronistic time together, and share not only past lessons learned, but actually, in the moment, learn together and support each other through actively co-designing projects and getting input while doing a project,” says Godwin.

In addition to the teams focusing on these initiatives, many conference delegates are continuing self-led virtual conversations started at the conference.

Godwin notes all of this reveals the sense of excitement and energy and connectivity around AI across the globe.

“There is energy and excitement for that (global connectivity), so I think the horizon we’re moving towards is creating the tools and the processes to do that more effectively.”

The 2009 World AI Conference took place in Nepal, a country that has experienced significant renewal from internal conflict through the AI methodology.

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