Can Open-Source AI Help Governments Build Digital Sovereignty? | ReModelUN

In this episode of the ReModelUN podcast, recorded at WSIS and AI for Good in Geneva, we speak with David Manset from the International Telecommunication Union, alongside Sharada Mohanty from AIcrowd, about open-source AI, digital public infrastructure, and the growing need for open technology stacks, from software to hardware. The conversation explores ITU’s work on open-source AI Genie, how governments can build local AI capacity, why open-source ecosystems need public and private sector collaboration, and what an open-source GPU could mean for digital sovereignty and young builders around the world. Learn more and get involved: https://www.remodelun.org/ https://aicrowd.com/ What we cover: Why open-source AI matters for public services How Genie helps governments experiment with responsible AI The role of RAG, fine-tuning, and local data in sovereign AI systems Why private sector participation matters in open-source ecosystems How young people and Model UN communities can engage with AI capacity building Why open hardware and open-source GPUs may be the next frontier Guests: David Manset — Senior Advisor, DPI & Open Source @ United Nations ITU Sharada Mohanty — AIcrowd, Founder & CEO Host: François Grey, University of Geneva Chapters: 00:00 Opening highlights 01:06 Welcome from WSIS and AI for Good 02:04 David Manset on ITU’s work in open source and digital public services 03:03 The open-source GPU idea 05:01 Introducing open-source AI Genie 07:34 Open-source LLMs, RAG, and public sector use cases 09:19 From training material to open-source product 10:53 How the private sector can contribute 13:08 AICrowd, crowdsourcing, and focused AI benchmarks 15:33 How young people and Model UN communities can engage 18:14 Digital sovereignty and open hardware 21:19 Why open hardware is missing from the global equation 22:51 CUDA, open GPU software layers, and agentic coding 24:19 Why open compute matters for India and future learners