Investment in core technologies and infrastructure for artificial intelligence (AI) continue to be concentrated within the Global North, even as the Global South — home to 88 percent of humanity — remains more vulnerable to risks.
Structural exclusion perpetuates the Global South’s post-colonial dependency as “rule-takers” who provide training data, deployment sites, natural minerals and other critical elements for this transformative technology, albeit without adequate safeguards or commensurate social and economic gains. To remedy this “wicked problem,” AI governance frameworks must be predicated on the trinity of equity, ethics and ecological sustainability.
This policy brief identifies opportunities for inclusive, effective and proportionate participation by the Global South in AI governance, outlining the systemic and power dynamics at play, and offering actionable recommendations for the short, medium and long terms.
