Global South groups call for greater equity in international AI governance

The Global Digital Justice Forum (GDJF) and the Global South Alliance (GSA) have issued a joint statement during the UN Global Dialogue on AI Governance, calling for changes in how international discussions on AI development and governance address global inequalities.

The organisations argue that the current AI ecosystem is heavily concentrated among a small number of large technology companies, particularly from the United States and China. They raised concerns that this concentration of resources, infrastructure and decision-making power limits the ability of many countries, especially in the Global South, to influence how AI technologies are developed and used.

The statement highlights the role of labour, natural resources, energy and infrastructure from countries in the Global South in supporting the global AI industry. According to GDJF and GSA, communities providing these resources often have limited influence over AI systems and do not receive proportional benefits from their development.

The organisations called for a rights-based approach to AI governance that considers economic inequality, environmental impacts and the participation of developing countries. They argued that future international cooperation should move beyond current models and create more balanced systems for sharing benefits and decision-making power.

Among their recommendations, GDJF and GSA called for addressing what they describe as ‘AI extractivism’, applying the principle of Common But Differentiated Responsibilities in international AI cooperation, improving accountability across data and AI supply chains, developing more equitable data governance frameworks, and investing in publicly available computing resources.

The statement was presented as a contribution to ongoing discussions within the UN Global Dialogue on AI Governance, which aims to support international cooperation and develop approaches for governing AI technologies.