India-AI Impact Summit
Leading Global Artificial Intelligence Governance from Outcomes to Impact
By Aishwarya Narayanan and Danish
The proliferation of high-level events on Artificial Intelligence (AI) in recent years has contributed to a global AI governance framework that marginalises many developing countries’ priorities. The India-AI Impact Summit, as the first AI summit of its kind to be held in the Global South, has shown how the views, needs and concerns of the developing and least developed nations can be placed at the heart of the global AI agenda.
Through the lens of the India-AI Impact Summit, this policy brief underscores the need to build synergies between AI summit outcomes, UN-based discussions and multistakeholder initiatives. It posits how coherence among these diverse processes can be advanced through the work of the Independent International Scientific Panel on AI and the Global Dialogue on AI Governance under the UN. The brief concludes with recommendations for building greater convergence on global AI governance that supports sustainable development in the Global South.
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AI and the Global South: Impacts, Opportunities, and Policy Approaches
By Danish
Artificial intelligence (AI) is set to transform economies and societies worldwide, with significant implications for people and the planet. For developing nations, AI will bring both transformative benefits and risks, requiring a proactive approach to its regulation that builds safeguards while promoting innovation. This paper therefore provides an assessment of the potential multidimensional impacts of AI on the people and countries of the global South, particularly on their digital transformation, labour and industrial development.
The paper further emphasises the need for developing nations to consider flexible policy frameworks for AI governance, tailored to their own unique needs, priorities, and capacities. Emphasising the importance of multistakeholder engagement, such as through opportunities provided by the India-AI Impact Summit, the paper underscores the need for effective international cooperation to build safe, trustworthy AI that promotes sustainable development.
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From Fragmentation to Impact: Strengthening Southern Agency in Global AI Governance
By Vahini Naidu and Danish
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming production, trade and governance systems, yet global regulatory efforts remain fragmented and uneven. The multiplicity of forums, frameworks and initiatives, from UN processes to plurilateral and trade-centred mechanisms, has produced overlapping agendas and resulted in diminished participation from global South stakeholders. For developing countries, the challenge is to engage meaningfully in global AI governance while preserving national policy space and advancing sustainable development priorities.
This policy brief examines the evolving landscape of AI governance, focusing on its institutional fragmentation and the competing conceptions of regulation advanced through the UN, G20, BRICS, and other fora. It argues that coherent, development-oriented AI governance requires strengthening UN-anchored processes and linking AI regulation to industrial policy, innovation systems and data sovereignty. The brief concludes that inclusive, sustainable and responsible AI governance should support governments in enhancing their capacities to harness AI and emerging technologies to shape their digital transformation.
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