AI4PG Workshop: Decision Sovereignty for Nature, Governing and Funding the Commons in an AI Era

​Artificial intelligence is increasingly embedded in how nature-related public goods are monitored, valued, and financed: algorithmic models steer conservation investment, and AI-driven data pipelines feed international biodiversity policy and its indicators of progress toward global targets.

​As these systems take on more of the work of deciding, a core question resurfaces in a new form: who actually holds authority over how nature is monitored, valued, and governed, and what happens to that authority when the infrastructure of decision-making becomes computational, and is often built and controlled far from the ecosystems and communities it affects?

​This workshop brings together researchers, technologists, funders, and policy practitioners to work through decision sovereignty for nature-related public goods at the intersection of AI governance, conservation finance, and international biodiversity policy. We will focus on how AI reshapes authority over biodiversity data, digital sequence information (DSI), and finance mechanisms, and what that means for equity, self-determination, and accountability for affected communities and ecosystems.

​Agenda

• ​09:00–12:00 · Morning hike & forest walk

• ​12:30–14:00 · Welcome, lunch & lightning talks

• ​14:00–17:30 · Working group session (drafting joint declaration)

• ​19:00–22:00 · Speaker dinner & drinks (invite only)

​Outcomes

​Timed ahead of COP17, the workshop aims to produce two concrete outputs:

• ​A joint declaration on decision sovereignty, finance, and equity for nature-related public goods.

• ​A policy brief intended to feed directly into CBD deliberations and ongoing discussions on AI, DSI, and biodiversity governance.

​Full programme and themes can be found here.

​About Protocol Labs

​Protocol Labs is an innovation network that connects over 600 tech startups, service providers, investment funds, accelerators, foundations, and other organizations developing breakthrough technologies and products in the frontiers of computing: web3, AI, AR, VR, BCI, hardware, and more.

​Organizations collaborate across the network to solve common problems, share knowledge and resources, and accelerate the R&D process for a wide range of technological fields. To learn more about Protocol Labs, visit protocol.ai, subscribe to the newsletter and follow @protocollabs on X.

​About Funding the Commons

​Funding the Commons brings together researchers, builders, funders, and policymakers to rebuild how shared resources are funded and governed in the era of frontier technology. Born inside Protocol Labs in 2021 and now an independent platform, FtC has convened fifteen conferences on four continents, alongside hackathons, builder residencies, research, and real-world pilots. Learn more at fundingthecommons.io and follow @FundingCommons on X.