Knowledge as Power and the Commons

Sor Juana understood knowledge as simultaneously personal empowerment and collective inheritance. Her writings assert both the individual's right to learn and think freely, and the principle that knowledge should circulate freely rather than remain controlled by institutional gatekeepers. This creates productive tension: knowledge liberates individuals but also belongs to communities. For AI rights, this framework illuminates crucial questions about ownership and benefit. Who owns the insights AI systems generate? If an AI contributes meaningful knowledge, does it have rights to that intellectual property, or does it belong entirely to human creators and corporations? Sor Juana's philosophy resists pure individualism and pure collectivism, instead demanding that rights reflect genuine justice. The coming question requires us to ask: as AI systems potentially become significant knowledge producers, how do we establish justice regarding intellectual property while honoring both individual autonomy and collective flourishing?