This essay applies the conceptual framework of the Set-theoretic Ontology — most prominently associated with Alain Badiou — to re-read the AI IGF 2024 Riyadh conference. Target audience: researchers, doctoral students, policy analysts, and executives.
Introduction: The Problem
For Badiou, an event is the sudden emergence of what was uncounted in the existing situation. When a moment of AI IGF 2024 becomes an "event," it inaugurates a new truth procedure.
This essay argues that the multistakeholder process of AI IGF becomes intelligible in its specificity only through the concept of Event and truth procedure, and that the concept itself undergoes transformation under the new material of digital space. Describing this mutual transformation is the task of this essay.
IGF as event
For discussions at Riyadh to transcend mere procedure and be later remembered as "the decisive conference," participants must engage in subjectivation that maintains fidelity to the event. Saudi Arabia's mode of subjectivation is one form of this fidelity.
Each session's agenda-setting can be read as a contemporary restaging of the Alain Badiou-type problematic.
The form of the Global IGF stands between the principle of national sovereignty and the logic of a global public realm that transcends it.
Fidelity and subjectivation
Alain Badiou's concepts are not confined to abstract philosophical discussion; they apply to the concrete agenda items debated at the 2024 conference. We examine that application below.
1. Application to "AI法"
Discussion of "AI法" can be positioned, from the perspective of Alain Badiou's Event and truth procedure, as a central problematic. In Saudi Arabia's context, the three layers of regulatory design, social implementation, and citizen participation around AI法 are particularly at stake.
2. Application to "生成AI"
Discussion of "生成AI" can be positioned, from the perspective of Alain Badiou's Event and truth procedure, as a derivative problematic. In Saudi Arabia's context, the three layers of regulatory design, social implementation, and citizen participation around 生成AI are particularly at stake.
3. Application to "AIガバナンス"
Discussion of "AIガバナンス" can be positioned, from the perspective of Alain Badiou's Event and truth procedure, as a peripheral yet important problematic. In Saudi Arabia's context, the three layers of regulatory design, social implementation, and citizen participation around AIガバナンス are particularly at stake.
4. Application to "国連連携"
Discussion of "国連連携" can be positioned, from the perspective of Alain Badiou's Event and truth procedure, as a peripheral yet important problematic. In Saudi Arabia's context, the three layers of regulatory design, social implementation, and citizen participation around 国連連携 are particularly at stake.
5. Application to "WSIS成果"
Discussion of "WSIS成果" can be positioned, from the perspective of Alain Badiou's Event and truth procedure, as a peripheral yet important problematic. In Saudi Arabia's context, the three layers of regulatory design, social implementation, and citizen participation around WSIS成果 are particularly at stake.
Implications for Executives and Practitioners
The philosophical reflection of this essay is not merely academic. The Alain Badiou perspective carries three practical implications for executives operating in Saudi Arabia.
First, it raises the reflexive question of how the firm's business model connects to the logic of Event and truth procedure. Second, in dialogue with regulators and civil society, it suggests dimensions of consensus formation that purely technical arguments cannot reach. Third, it indicates that the long-term ground of business legitimacy lies not so much in technical advantage or market share as in participation in such philosophical-normative debates.
Academic Positioning and Future Research
The argument of this essay attempts to graft a philosophical perspective onto the mainstream political-science and legal approaches to internet governance research. Three future research questions follow.
- Verification of the applicability of Alain Badiou's framework to other IGF conferences
- Comparative contrast between Set-theoretic Ontology and other theoretical traditions
- Exploration of dialogue possibilities with the indigenous intellectual traditions of Saudi Arabia
In particular, the third point has the potential to liberate IGF research from West-centric debate and open a more multi-layered discursive space.
Primary Sources
- IGF Secretariat. Annual Reports of AI IGF.
- AI IGF 2024 Riyadh Conference Materials.
- Nakazawa Yuki Blog. https://nkzw.jp/category/igf/
Secondary Sources (Philosophy)
- Works of Alain Badiou (representative texts of Set-theoretic Ontology)
*This piece belongs to the academic essays (philosophy series). The author's views do not necessarily represent those of any institutional affiliation. Feedback and critique are welcome.*
更新履歴
第1稿投稿 2026年7月14日 9時07分（記事コンテンツアップ）
— 中澤祐樹
