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As AI grows, so does dependence on the companies and institutions that control the infrastructure on which it runs. “Public” infrastructure can mean government-built systems or open, cross-border infrastructure maintained by nonprofit, research, commercial, or volunteer communities. This panel will discuss how these models intersect with sovereignty, drawing on analogies like natural food webs to examine when openness and shared standards genuinely reduce lock-in, what dependencies persist across cloud, compute, and skills, and how public institutions can fund infrastructure that’s adaptable and accountable without every country rebuilding from scratch.

Open hardware can help make AI systems more inspectable, adaptable, repairable, and interoperable. This lightning talk situates open hardware as one layer of a broader sovereignty strategy: a tool for expanding technical choice and auditability, not a promise that every country or community can manufacture or operate an entire computing stack on its own. It clarifies what open hardware can realistically deliver, including greater technical choice, auditability, and resistance to vendor lock-in, and where its limits lie against the reality of concentrated chip and cloud supply chains.

Digital sovereignty in the AI era cannot be realized through isolation or full-stack self-sufficiency. The cost of compute, hardware, and sovereign AI architectures makes it structurally impossible to own and control every layer of the stack independently. True digital agency instead comes through strategic partnership: shared open-source architectures, joint compute models, and standardized data protocols. This session brings together leaders to explore how middle powers can collaborate to avoid vendor lock-in and build a resilient, open tech stack, from scaling shared protocols like X-Road and MOSIP to pooled financing that mutualizes infrastructure costs. The panel will also weigh which multilateral forum (UN, G20, or G7) is best positioned to host ongoing technical governance and collaborative infrastructure development.

This episode features audio from the book event Against Tech Oligarchy: Worker Resistance in the World's Most Powerful Industry. It features a discussion with the book's authors J.S. Tan and Clarissa Redwine, moderated by Nikhil Singh.

In response to rising HIV cases in New York City, PrEP4All and the Save HIV Funding Campaign will convene a Community Forum in partnership with NYU Law’s Engelberg Center on Innovation Law & Policy. Once a national leader in ending the HIV epidemic, New York now faces stalled progress and increasing diagnoses — particularly in communities long disproportionately impacted — making this a critical moment for renewed urgency and leadership. This Town Hall will bring together candidates for New York’s 12th Congressional District, alongside public health leaders and advocates, for a solutions-driven conversation on expanding PrEP access and strengthening prevention infrastructure. Designed as a high-visibility platform, the forum aims to drive concrete policy commitments and public accountability at a pivotal moment for HIV prevention. Candidates in attendance will include, Alex Bores Chris Diep Laura Dunn Dr. Wilneida Negron Karen Ortiz Nina Schwalbe Patrick Timmins Note: The event will be conducted in a strictly nonpartisan manner, with no endorsement of candidates or political parties

This episode is audio from METRO's Digital Culture of Metropolitan New York community event, featuring a presentation by Kaitlin Thaney, Executive Director, Invest in Open Infrastructure. It was recorded on April 8, 2026.

This episode is audio from METRO's Digital Culture of Metropolitan New York community event, featuring a presentation by Tara Hart, Head Archivist of the Whitney Museum of American Art. It was recorded on April 8, 2026.

This episode is audio from METRO's Digital Culture of Metropolitan New York community event, featuring a presentation by Rob Christiansen, Director of Broadcast Applications, New York Public Radio. It was recorded on April 8, 2026.

This episode is audio from METRO's Digital Culture of Metropolitan New York community event, featuring a presentation by Henry Felix Raine, Director of the Library Digital Program at the New York Historical. It was recorded on April 8, 2026.

This episode is audio from the book launch for Move Slow and Upgrade, featuring co-author Albert Fox Cahn in conversation with Washington Post technology reporter Shira Ovide. It was recorded on March 4, 2026.

This episode is audio from Nancy Mahon's keynote address to the Engelberg Center's Conspicuous Consumers Symposium. It was recorded on October 16 , 2025.

Daniel Francis, NYU School of LawDoha Mekki, UC Berkeley LawEric Posner, University of Chicago Law SchoolScott Hemphill, Engelberg Center on Innovation Law & Policy, NYU School of Law (moderator)

Erich Andersen, Engelberg Center on Innovation Law & Policy, NYU School of LawKristelia García, Georgetown LawKatrina Geddes, Ohio State University Moritz College of LawGuy Rub, Temple University Beasley School of LawChris Sprigman, Engelberg Center on Innovation Law & Policy, NYU School of Law

Lisa Bonner, Esq. Bonner Law, A Professional Corporation

Mala Chatterjee, Columbia Law SchoolDeven Desai, Georgia Tech Scheller College of BusinessAaron Perzanowski, University of Michigan Law SchoolJason Schultz, Engelberg Center on Innovation Law & Policy, NYU School of Law (moderator)