AI Governance and a Voice for the Global South

Syllabus: GS2/Governance; GS3/Artificial Intelligence

Context

• India faces a choice between dependency and leadership in AI governance.

Background

• India hosted the India AI Impact Summit 2026, which sought to put the needs and challenges of the Global South at the centre of the Artificial Intelligence (AI) discourse.
  • The summit’s themes framed by India were rooted in the contextual realities of the Global South with a focus on real-world harms. 
• India’s approach was different from the previous summits (at Bletchley Park, 2023, U.K.; Seoul 2024, and Paris 2025) that prioritised both catastrophic and existential risks over questions of present harms, equity and inclusion.
• As the Summit evolved, the political and policy momentum shifted toward raising capital for AI development in India.
  • India joined Pax Silica, signalling strategic alignment with the United States-dominated semiconductor supply chain. 

Challenges India Faces in Emerging as a Global Leader in AI

• Middle power dilemma: India is inclined towards becoming a middle power i.e. a country that is important and influential in world affairs. But it is challenged by the U.S., Japan, and many European countries as they are much more advanced in AI technology.
  • India is still a developing country and also wants to represent the interests of the Global South.
• U.S. Foreign Policy: The U.S. has declared its disinterest in AI governance, especially global multilateral or multistakeholder governance.
  • This raises fundamental questions for India and the Global South on concentration of infrastructure, and economic power in the U.S..
• Other Concerns: India’s dependence for AI on western countries raises the questions about data security, land acquisition for creating data centres and western countries taking all the profits from the partnership.

Opportunities for India

• The first of a two-part UN Global Dialogue on AI is underway in Geneva.
  • Stakeholders will convene to discuss how the multilateral and multistakeholder ecosystem can come together to collectively define the rules for the governance of AI.
• India can use the opportunity to stitch together a fractured AI policy agenda that currently lacks a leader. 
  • India remains one of the few countries with the political heft, the technical capacity, and a diverse market to play this role. 
  • Rather than positioning itself merely as a destination for investment or a market for AI, India could reassert a vision of technological development rooted in public purpose, user safety, strategic autonomy, and international cooperation.

Way Ahead

• India should reiterate the need for international norms that empower Global South countries to focus on building local AI ecosystems and fostering innovation, safeguarding users, and enhancing regulatory capacity. 
• It should also advance critical debates on competition and consumer protection and ensure economic value accrues within national markets.
• India must create pathways for international cooperation on AI within the Global South.

Source: TH