Anima Mundi: Global Open Call Invites AI Innovators and Communities to Use Cultural Wisdom to Shape Responsible Artificial Intelligence

Overview

Anima Mundi: The Soul of the World Meets the Machine is an international initiative inviting start-ups, researchers, designers, engineers, young people, and communities to explore how cultural traditions, mythologies, cosmologies, and lived experiences can shape contemporary artificial intelligence governance. Presented by the AI Hub for Sustainable Development alongside MIMIT and UNDP, the initiative encourages participants to connect cultural stories with real decisions made by private-sector teams and AI companies today. All submitted works will be preserved in a permanent open online library functioning as a global commons under Creative Commons licensing with attribution.

Eligibility

The call welcomes participants from around the world, with particular invitations extended to individuals and organisations from G7 countries and the 18 African partner countries of the Italy-Africa Mattei Plan. Target participants include:

• AI start-ups and industry actors
• Engineers, designers, researchers, and founders
• Young people involved in building or studying AI systems
• Community members and individuals with lived experience of artificial intelligence
• Carriers of traditional cultural knowledge and stories

How to Apply

Submissions must include two principal components:

• A Digital Artwork: Created in a digital visual medium in collaboration with technology functioning as an active partner in the creative process.
• A Written Description (up to 500 words): Written in any language of the participant's choice, detailing the cultural tradition used, the real-world AI decision examined, the rationale behind their pairing, and a governance analysis covering design choices, stakeholder involvement, and review processes.

Submissions can be initiated through the official online form.

Deadline

No deadline is stated in the provided source.