Public Intelligence is AI used for the public good, a commons approach that builds application layers connecting places, people and institutions. In 2026 it also became my name for the defense of durée against cognitive imperialism.
How the word moved
It first shows up in Feb 2025 in Wystems Thinking 1. In Mar 2026 it became a Socratus series, where we treated the application layer as cultural infrastructure, hybrid, humble and oriented to place. By May 2026 I meant cognitive architecture situated in local reality, with UPI and ONDC as the exemplars. Desi rails for a commons, if you like.
In my words
"A commons approach to AI."
from Public Intelligence I: AI in the Public Interest, 2 Mar 2026
"That, to us, is public intelligence: hybrid, humble, and oriented to place."
from Public Intelligence I: AI in the Public Interest, 2 Mar 2026
Related
- Contradicts Great Enclosure - it's the commons set against enclosure.
- Related Wystem - it's built on the Wystem.
- Related Augmented Intelligence - AI as augmented intelligence is the starting point.
- Related Defense of Duree - durée is what public intelligence defends.
- Related Cognitive Sovereignty - cognitive sovereignty is its instrument.
- Related Civic Translators - civic translators are the people who make it work in actual places.
Still open
How does a commons-first AI escape dependence on the foundation models it's built on? I haven't addressed that, and I should.