Initiating the Global AI Dialogues: Laypeople Perspectives on the Future Role of genAI in Society from Nigeria, Germany and Japan

With the rapid development and release of generative AI (genAI) applications, policy discourses primarily take place on an expert level. Little space is given to laypeople – who have to adapt to and adopt the genAI innovations – to share their opinions and experiences. Addressing this gap, we organized 6h/3.5h laypeople dialogues in Nigeria, Japan, and Germany in July and August 2024. During the dialogues, participants discussed what a desirable future in light of genAI development could look like in one of three contexts: education, public service, and arts & culture. Participants explored the consequences of technology deployment, assessed the risks, mapped stakeholders, and derived measures to achieve a desirable goal. This study contributes to policy debates on genAI by providing recommendations derived from participants’ identified requirements and suggested measures for genAI to create value and to foster a socially desirable future. We reflect on the results through a cross-national lens.