Digital tools are transforming governance, but not always in ways that align with democratic values. While debates on democracy and human rights in the digital and artificial intelligence (AI) age are widespread, they have yet to translate into a thriving ecosystem of successful public interest software ventures.

This panel explores the incentives driving the development of public interest technologies and the systemic shifts needed to support them. Questions such as the following will be addressed: Who is building these tools and what motivates them? How can we create the conditions for them to succeed? How do we move beyond conventional profit-driven models towards cooperative or solidarity-based frameworks that align with democratic ideals? Drawing from decentralized systems and cooperative models in other sectors, builders of public interest technologies will share bold ideas and practical strategies for fostering a digital landscape that prioritizes the public good over private gain.