Panel Discussion on IP Innovation

and Artificial Intelligence

Rasigan Maharajh, PhD
WIPO-NIPMO IP Innovation Policy Workshop,
16th July 2019, East London Industrial Development Zone.
.
 Outline
• Introduction: Our Combined, Uneven,Yet Common World
• Sectoral Paradoxes of Information and Communications Technologies
• Intellectual Property, and the Enclosure of the Commons
• Conclusion: Challenges of Inclusive Development
• References
 Introduction
• Our Contemporary Conjuncture is defined by Contradictions and Crisis's originating in the
hegemonic mode of production: Globalised Neoliberal Capitalism, which shapes World
Systems and produces Combined, Uneven, yet Common characteristics (Maharajh, 2015)
• The Anatomy of South African society is discernible through analysing:
• the development of our productive forces, and
• the structure of the relations of ownership (Maharajh, 2011)
• 2nd Decade of the 21st Century of the Common Era
• An ailing national system of innovation which has yet to be meaningfully disconnected from the apartheid
construct
• A progressive system of science and technology where policy design and implementation are constrained
by the wider political economy gaps and bottlenecks
• An education system, with a ‘pipeline’ from birth to higher education which has consistently failed to
serve the requirements for a thriving NSI
• The paucity of critical voices
• The start of a meaningful engagement with the NSIs within the African continent
Waves of Techno-Economic Transformation

Source: Hargroves & Smith, 2005.

Co-evolution of Labour Processes & Technology

Source: Keller et al, 2018

Global Wealth Inequality (2019)

Source: Oxfam, 2019 Source: Davies et al, 2018

 Sectoral Paradoxes of ICTs
• Where are the ICT Productivity Gains?
• “the distinction between licensing (renting) and purchasing (buying) software becomes
important. When people say, "I am going to buy a copy of Photoshop," they actually mean "I
am going to buy a licence to run a copy of Photoshop, and hope that I meet all the criteria
stipulated in the licence contract." This form of agreement is called an end user licence
agreement or EULA” (Vanheuverswyn, 2007)
• Contradictions between Free-Software and Open Systems
• “It would actually be in the interests of the development of the productive forces that all
information and innovation were freely diffused throughout the economy. Under capitalism,
innovation would not take place at all under those conditions. Only by retarding the spread of
ideas and charging rents can capitalism develop the powers of production. In other words, this
is an example of capitalism as a fetter on the development of the productive forces” (Brooks,
2005)
Emerging and Disruptive Trends in AI
 AI Glossary
• ALGORITHM A set of step-by-step instructions. Computer algorithms can be
simple (if it's 3 p.m., send a reminder) or complex (identify pedestrians).
• BACKPROPAGATION The way many neural nets learn. They find the difference
between their output and the desired output, then adjust the calculations in
reverse order of execution.
• BLACK BOX A description of some deep learning systems. They take an input and
provide an output, but the calculations that occur in between are not easy for
humans to interpret.
• DEEP LEARNING How a neural network with multiple layers becomes sensitive
to progressively more abstract patterns. In parsing a photo, layers might
respond first to edges, then paws, then dogs.
• EXPERT SYSTEM A form of AI that attempts to replicate a human's expertise in
an area, such as medical diagnosis. It combines a knowledge base with a set of
hand-coded rules for applying that knowledge. Machine-learning techniques are
increasingly replacing hand coding.
• GENERATIVE ADVERSARIAL NETWORKS A pair of jointly trained neural networks
that generates realistic new data and improves through competition. One net
creates new examples (fake Picassos, say) as the other tries to detect the fakes.
• MACHINE LEARNING The use of algorithms that find patterns in data without
explicit instruction. A system might learn how to associate features of inputs
such as images with outputs such as labels.
• NATURAL LANGUAGE PROCESSING A computer's attempt to “understand”
spoken or written language. It must parse vocabulary, grammar, and intent, and
allow for variation in language use. The process often involves machine learning.
• NEURAL NETWORK A highly abstracted and simplified model of the human brain
used in machine learning. A set of units receives pieces of an input (pixels in a
photo, say), performs simple computations on them, and passes them on to the
next layer of units. The final layer represents the answer.
• NEUROMORPHIC CHIP A computer chip designed to act as a neural network. It
can be analogue, digital, or a combination.
• PERCEPTRON An early type of neural network, developed in the 1950s. It
received great hype but was then shown to have limitations, suppressing interest
in neural nets for years.
• REINFORCEMENT LEARNING A type of machine learning in which the algorithm
learns by acting toward an abstract goal, such as “earn a high video game score”
or “manage a factory efficiently.” During training, each effort is evaluated based
on its contribution toward the goal.
• STRONG AI AI that is as smart and well-rounded as a human. Some say it's
impossible. Current AI is weak, or narrow. It can play chess or drive but not both,
and lacks common sense.
• SUPERVISED LEARNING A type of machine learning in which the algorithm
compares its outputs with the correct outputs during training. In unsupervised
learning, the algorithm merely looks for patterns in a set of data.
• TENSORFLOW A collection of software tools developed by Google for use in deep
learning. It is open source, meaning anyone can use or improve it. Similar projects
include Torch and Theano.
• TRANSFER LEARNING A technique in machine learning in which an algorithm
learns to perform one task, such as recognizing cars, and builds on that
knowledge when learning a different but related task, such as recognizing cats.
• TURING TEST A test of AI's ability to pass as human. In Alan Turing's original
conception, an AI would be judged by its ability to converse through written text.
Source: Hutson, 2017
 Intellectual Property, and the Enclosure of the Commons
• Commodification (Use & Exchange Value)
• “medievalisation of the national system of innovation” (Bollier, 2003) – Attempts to capture rents
from “their” intellectual property with the highway robbery of medieval aristocrats who levied
tolls on traders and restricted the growth of commerce and prosperity
• new enclosure is a slowing in the process of mutual exchange of ideas (Brooks, 2005)
• “Copyright does not protect [Academics] if their work is published in a journal. It protects the
handful of global publishing companies - Thomson, Elsevier, Lexis/Nexis, Taylor & Francis and
so on - who dominate this market. And who pays the academics to do the research? We do.
Through our taxes we subsidise the research departments of our public universities. We
effectively subsidise these super-rich publishing companies to make money out of other
people's ideas. They sell most of their scholarly journals to university libraries at a price
typically three times as high as they would charge an individual. The university library, a captive
buyer, holds out the begging bowl to the government. We pay again” (Brooks, 2005)
 Conclusion: Challenges of Inclusive Development
• Defend National Policy Sovereignty derived from Democratic Institutions
• Access, Inclusion, and Meaningful Participation
• Competent State engendered by Capacities and Capabilities
• Uncomplicated Legislation for Complexity
• Budgeted Mandates and Strict Regulatory Oversight
• Balances Short-, Medium-, and Long-Term National Development Objectives
• Multilateral International Governance and Protection of the Global
Knowledge Commons
• Progressive Creative Destruction: Learning by Doing, Doing Better by
Learning!
 References
Adam, Lishan; and Alison Gillwald (2013) The Political Economy of ICT Policy Making in Africa: Historical Contexts of Regulatory Frameworks, Policy Performance, Research Questions and
Methodological Issues, LINK Centre, Johannesburg.
Bollier, David. 2003. Silent Theft: The Private Plunder of our Common Wealth, Routledge, London.
Brooks, Mick. 2005. Intellectual Property Rights – The Modern-Day Enclosure of The Commons, 22 November.
Davies, J, Lluberas, R. and Shorrocks, A. 2018. World Wealth Databook, Credit Suisse, Geneva.
Hargroves & Smith. 2005. The natural advantage of nations: Business opportunities, innovation and governance in the 21st century, Earthscan, London.
Hutson, Matthew. 2017. AI Glossary: Artificial Intelligence, in so many words, Science 357(6346): 19
Keller, Christian; Tomasz Wieladek, and Iaroslav Shelepko. 2018. Macroeconomics of the Machines, Barclays. London.
Maharajh, Rasigan. 2015. The Metabolic Rift, Anachronistic Institutions and the Anthropocene, SPANDA Journal 6 (1): 1-10.
Maharajh, Rasigan. 2016. Digital Liberty, the Knowledge Commons and some Challenges for the Governance of Information and Communication Technologies and the Internet for Brazil,
Russia, India, China and South Africa, Proceedings of the 7th BRICS Academic Forum, Moscow.
Maharajh, Rasigan. 2018. Africa and the Fourth Industrial Revolution: The Need for ‘Creative Destruction’ Beyond Technological Change, Perspectives Africa 3 (December): 30-34.
Moglen, Eben. 2003. The dotCommunist Manifesto. Software Freedom Law Center, Columbia University, New York.
Noble, D.F. 2011. Forces of Production: A Social History of Industrial Automation, Transaction Publishers, New Brunswick.
Oxfam. 2019. Public Good or Private Wealth? Briefing Paper, 21 January.
Rikowski, Ruth. 2006. A Marxist Analysis of the World Trade Organisation’s Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, Policy Futures in Education 4(4): 396-409.
Syam, Nirmalya. 2019. Mainstreaming or Dilution? Intellectual Property and Development in WIPO, South Centre Research Paper 95, Geneva.
Taylor, Astra (2014) The People’s Platform: Taking Back Power and Culture in the Digital Age, Fourth Estate, London.
Trottier, Daniel; and Christian Fuchs (2015) Social Media, Politics and the State: Protests, Revolutions, Riots, Crime and Policing in the Age of Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, Routledge,
New York.
Vanheuverswyn, Maarten. 2007. The Problem with the Computer Industry under Capitalism - Free Software the Answer? 24 September.
 Dankie
rasigan@ieri.org.za
Thank you
www.ieri.org.za
Ngiyathokoza Faculty of Economics & Finance,
Enkosi Tshwane University of Technology,
159 Nana Sita Street,
Ngiyabonga Pretoria CBD, 0002,
Ke a leboga Gauteng Province,
Ke a leboha Republic of South Africa .
Ke a leboga
Siyabonga
Ndo livhuwa/ Ro livhuwa
Inkomu