Data Dividends, Payments, and Commons Rent

What would it take to return some of the value created from people’s data? I'm interested in thinking through a range of ideas: individual payments, shared proceeds, commons rent, and related ideas.

Key References

  1. 2021 · Other paperA Data Dividend that Works: Steps Toward Building an Equitable Data EconomyBerggruen Institute white paper
  2. 2019 · Other paperMapping the Potential and Pitfalls of 'Data Dividends' as a Means of Sharing the Profits of Artificial Intelligence.arXiv preprint

More work in this topic

A not-totally-exhaustive (because there’s a lot of overlap between these themes) list of “outputs” that meet this theme.

2026Jun 2026BlogAI Dividends Without Taxing Compute, Automation, or Equity: A Presumptive Commons-Rent Tax Based on Capabilities and Data DependenceData Leverage
2025Apr 2025Blog[microblog] One book is worth "0.06%" benchmark points to AI; is "no different from noise". What gives?Data Leverage
20242024ProjectData Napkin Math
2023Nov 2023WorkshopSharing the Winnings of AI with Data Dividends: Challenges with 'Meritocratic' Data ValuationEAAMO 2023 Poster Track
2023Oct 2023MediaNewspapers want payment for articles used to power ChatGPTThe Washington Post
2023Mar 2023BlogBing Rewards for the AI AgeData Leverage
2022Oct 2022WorkshopCollaborative Design of Contribution Tracking Systems for Decentralized OrganizationsCESC 2022
2021Nov 2021PodcastShould Tech Companies Be Paying Us for Our Data?Things Have Changed Podcast
2021Oct 2021Other paperFrom My Data to Our DataBook chapter in The Future of Building Wealth
2021May 2021MediaFacebook and Others Should Pay Us for Our Data. Here’s One WayBloomberg
2021May 2021PodcastOn Data DividendsRadicalxChange Podcast
2020Jul 2020PanelData Driven Economy for AllRadicalxChange 2020 Conference