The price of having a say on AI in Davos 

In Davos, small organisations struggle to be heard amid an artificial intelligence (AI) debate dominated by billion-dollar companies. A reportage from the Alpine town during the World Economic Forum (WEF). Tammy Mackenzie did not come to Davos to do business or court investors. She is here to bring a perspective on AI that doesn’t come from a billion-dollar company. “We want to make sure everyone can have a say on AI, from ordinary people to those who represent great powers,” says Mackenzie, who leads Aula Fellowship, a thinktank based in Montreal, Canada, that advocates for more inclusive AI. Mackenzie is among several technologists and entrepreneurs who are concerned about the concentration of power in AI. She has spent years trying to raise awareness through research, data and campaigns. If AI systems are not designed with marginalised groups in mind, she argues, they risk reinforcing exclusion. The tools used in hiring or health, for instance, are already making automated ...