# [IGF 2026 WS #192 The blind spots of digital governance: Exposing assumptions](https://intgovforum.org/en/content/igf-2026-ws-192-the-blind-spots-of-digital-governance-exposing-assumptions)

## Description

Digital governance frameworks travel further than the contexts in which they were created. Technologies, standards, and governance approaches developed in particular environments are applied across regions with different infrastructures, institutions, languages, and social realities.

When these assumptions are treated as universal, blind spots emerge. These blind spots affect inclusion, accountability, representation, and human rights; plus, the rapid expansion of AI makes them more urgent. We should ask: Are the frameworks guiding digital and AI governance sufficiently adaptable to the realities in which they operate?

The Global South provides a critical lens for examining these tensions. Not because these challenges are exclusive to the region, but because different technological, institutional and social conditions make hidden dependencies more visible.

We will examine case studies in which assumptions embedded in digital and AI governance approaches create challenges in practice, including:

The pathway assumption that everyone follows the same route: Mobile-first ecosystems and leapfrogging, for instance, demonstrate how countries have developed digital services without replicating infrastructure pathways common elsewhere.

The representation assumption that everyone is represented in the system: AI systems and digital services can reproduce gaps when local languages, cultural contexts and knowledge systems are underrepresented, for instance.

The universality assumption that every context shares the same risks, institutions or priorities: Technical standards and governance approaches designed for global use, for instance, can overlook local realities.

The session will move beyond identifying challenges to examine how these blind spots can inform better digital and AI governance approaches. Through diverse perspectives and evidence-based examples, it will explore which assumptions need to be reconsidered, which elements require contextual adaptation, and what practical changes are needed to ensure that technologies and governance frameworks work across different realities.

## Policy Question(s)

A. After decades of efforts to promote human rights, inclusion, and accountability in digital governance, what assumptions remain unchallenged, and what lessons should they offer for AI governance?
B. How should digital and AI governance balance universal human rights principles with the need to respond to different realities, needs and conditions?
C. What are concrete examples of governance standards that were designed in specific contexts but created unexpected challenges when deployed elsewhere?

## Expected Outcomes

The session will:
1. Generate a clearer understanding of which assumptions embedded in digital and AI governance frameworks remain valid across contexts, which require reconsideration, and where approaches need adaptation.
2. Provide participants with a practical framework for examining digital and AI systems through four questions:
>> What context was this model designed for?
>> What assumptions does it make about users, institutions and infrastructure?
>> Who or what is missing from the design?
>> What needs to change for it to work in different realities?
3. Contribute to the development of more context-aware governance approaches that preserve universal human rights principles while responding effectively to diverse social, institutional and technological realities.

## Format

Roundtable
**Duration (minutes):** 90
**Format description:** The roundtable format is best suited because the session is designed as a collective examination of assumptions rather than a sequence of presentations. The three case studies will serve as starting points for testing how digital and AI governance frameworks perform when applied across different technological, institutional and social realities.

Speakers will respond to a shared question: Which assumptions embedded in digital and AI governance frameworks hold when they move across contexts, and which become problematic?

The format will allow participants to compare perspectives from different regions and stakeholder groups, including policymakers, civil society, and technical communities. The 90-minute duration will provide space not only to identify blind spots, but also to discuss possible adaptations and practical pathways forward. The objective is to explore how governance approaches can remain rights-respecting while responding to diverse realities.

## Hybrid Format

**Hybrid Format:** The session will be designed as an interactive hybrid dialogue: Speakers will introduce case studies illustrating different governance blind spots, followed by a moderated discussion involving onsite and online participants.

An interactive tool will allow participants to test each case through a set of questions: What assumption is embedded in this model? Does it hold across different contexts? What adaptation is needed? Responses will be collected in real time and used to identify recurring patterns across regions and stakeholder groups.

Dedicated onsite and online moderators will ensure balanced participation and integrate remote contributions throughout the session rather than reserving them for the end. Online participants will be invited to contribute examples and challenge assumptions emerging from the discussion. Whenever possible, online moderators will facilitate multilingual participation to broaden accessibility and inclusion.

The session will consolidate key lessons on how digital and AI governance approaches can become more adaptable across contexts.

## Organizers

**Organizer 1:** Mia Marzotto, Oxfam
**Organizer 2:** Stephanie Borg Psaila, 🔒DiploFoundation

## Speakers

**Speaker 1:** Gitungo Wamere, Civil Society, African Group
**Speaker 2:** Juliana Guerra, Technical Community, Latin American and Caribbean Group (GRULAC)
**Speaker 3:** Molivurae Andrew, Civil Society, Asia-Pacific Group
**Speaker 4:** ANTOINE BARBRY, Intergovernmental Organization, Intergovernmental Organization
**Speaker 5:** Stephanie Borg Psaila, Civil Society, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)

## Moderator

Stephanie Borg Psaila, Civil Society, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)

## Online Moderator

Mia Marzotto, Civil Society, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)

## Rapporteur

Ben Zid Haythem, Civil Society, African Group

## Participant Benefits

What will participants gain from attending this session?

## SDGs

5.b
9.5
10.2
16.7