Artificial Intelligence as the Common: Cognitive Capitalism, Enclosure and the Crisis of Property

This study discusses the transformations that cause knowledge to become a source of power, wealth, and property in contemporary societies and the phenomenon of artificial intelligence, which is at the center of these transformations, in the context of cognitive capitalism and the theory of the commons. Cognitive capitalism, which has become dominant today, points to a new process of enclosure of knowledge and therefore of the commons. The rise of artificial intelligence and the transformation in the mode of knowledge-based production have made the problem of how to protect and control the sources of collective knowledge a current debate. In this context, this study addresses the process of enclosing and appropriating the commons through collective knowledge structures, intellectual creativity, user experiences, and datasets in the context of artificial intelligence. The enclosure of artificial commons such as knowledge, symbols, icons, and data resources reveals new forms of capitalism; this process makes visible the tension between the communal nature of the knowledge structures underlying artificial intelligence and the logic of private property. In this context, the article aims to discuss the question of whether artificial intelligence should be regulated within the undemocratic boundaries of private property or in line with collective participation and democratic principles appropriate to the nature of the commons.