The BRICS Declaration on Global AI Governance is a powerful articulation of a multipolar, inclusive, and sustainable AI future.

BRICS Leaders’ Declaration on Global AI Governance – A South-South Vision for Equitable AI Development

by ChatGPT-4o

The July 2025 BRICS Leaders’ Statement on the Global Governance of Artificial Intelligence presents a comprehensive, values-driven roadmap for the responsible development and use of artificial intelligence, with a strong emphasis on equity, sovereignty, and sustainability. The declaration is not only a geopolitical counterpoint to Western-led AI frameworks but also a philosophical and strategic articulation of how the Global South envisions a just AI future.

I. Overview and Key Themes

At its core, the BRICS declaration advances five interwoven principles:

1. Multilateralism under UN Leadership: A rejection of fragmented governance and Western-led standard-setting in favor of a centralized, inclusive process anchored in the United Nations.

2. Digital Sovereignty and Development Rights: A robust defense of every nation’s right to regulate AI within its own borders and to build its own technological capabilities.

3. Equitable Access to Technology and Data: An insistence on fair access to AI infrastructure, open-source development, and the removal of financial and technical barriers.

4. Human-Centered Ethics and Safety: A vision of AI that is inclusive, transparent, non-discriminatory, and accountable to the public interest.

5. Focus on Sustainable Development: AI must actively contribute to addressing climate change, social inequality, and development challenges in low- and middle-income countries.

These themes culminate in a prudent stance toward Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), warning against concentration of power and advocating for shared global oversight.

II. Critical Evaluation

A. Points of Agreement

I broadly agree with the declaration’s intent and emphasis on rebalancing global AI governance. The Global South has historically been sidelined in digital standard-setting, and BRICS’ push to re-anchor governance in the UN and away from private corporate consortia or Global North-dominated forums (like the OECD or G7) is justifiable and overdue.

1. Sovereignty and Self-Determination: The emphasis on digital sovereignty aligns with growing concerns about neocolonial patterns in AI development, where data extraction and model training are centralized in the West, but impacts are felt globally.

2. Equitable Data Governance: The call for transparent, fair access to quality datasets is a vital corrective to exploitative AI training practices. It echoes broader critiques of the “data colonialism” phenomenon.

3. Sustainability and Decent Work: By acknowledging AI’s environmental costs and labor impacts, the declaration introduces a necessary counterweight to the dominant narrative of AI as purely an economic growth engine.

4. Ethics and Diversity: The insistence on multilingual, culturally representative datasets, independent audit mechanisms, and human oversight provides a solid ethical foundation. The reference to UNESCO’s Recommendation on the Ethics of AI further embeds these aspirations in international consensus.

5. Open-Source Innovation and Scientific Cooperation: This is a pragmatic strategy to leapfrog infrastructural constraints and democratize innovation in the Global South.

B. Points of Concern

While the declaration is aspirational and well-intentioned, several challenges and omissions temper its immediate effectiveness:

1. Vagueness Around Enforcement and Implementation: The document is rich in principles but short on concrete mechanisms. For instance, how will “equitable data access” be operationalized across jurisdictions with competing privacy and IP regimes?

2. Risk of Politicization: While the UN-centric approach is inclusive in theory, it risks gridlock in practice, especially if major players like the U.S. or EU resist ceding control to more diverse, consensus-driven institutions.

3. Lack of Clarity on Private Sector Roles: Although the statement nods to multi-stakeholder collaboration, the regulatory and innovation roles of global tech companies remain under-defined. Given their current dominance in AI, clearer accountability frameworks are needed.

4. AGI Governance Ambiguity: The text wisely warns of AGI concentration but stops short of endorsing binding treaties or moratoriums. In this vacuum, powerful actors may still act unilaterally.

5. Silent on Surveillance and Authoritarian Use: The declaration omits discussion of state-led abuses of AI (e.g., surveillance, biometric tracking, censorship), an ironic gap given that some BRICS members have been criticized for such practices.

III. Recommendations

To make the BRICS AI governance framework impactful and globally legitimate, the following actions should be considered by stakeholders:

For BRICS Governments:

• Operationalize Guidelines: Translate high-level principles into enforceable regulations and regional instruments (e.g., South-South AI observatory or certification schemes).

• Lead by Example: Implement ethical, transparent, and inclusive AI policies domestically to model the vision they advocate globally.

• Invest in Open Infrastructure: Develop shared computing infrastructure, regional model hubs, and multilingual datasets accessible to academic and civic actors.

For the UN and Multilateral Bodies:

• Institutionalize the Global Dialogue on AI Governance: Create a structured platform under the UN (akin to IPCC for climate) to monitor, report, and coordinate AI policies with balanced Global North–South representation.

• Support Capacity Building: Use development financing tools (e.g., via the UNDP or MDBs) to fund AI literacy, research, and infrastructure in least-developed countries.

For Civil Society and Academia:

• Monitor Implementation: Independently assess whether states adhere to the ethical and inclusive principles they promote.

• Build Regional Knowledge Networks: Coordinate transnational research partnerships and educational initiatives to empower local AI communities.

For the Private Sector:

• Adopt Open Innovation Principles: Support and fund open-source models, contribute to multilingual datasets, and align with local ethical norms.

• Respect Sovereignty and IP: Engage constructively with national regulations and support equitable licensing frameworks.

IV. Conclusion

The BRICS Declaration on Global AI Governance is a powerful articulation of a multipolar, inclusive, and sustainable AI future. It challenges the status quo by asserting the rights of developing countries not merely to adopt, but to shape, the AI revolution. While it will require concrete follow-through and institutional support to avoid becoming a rhetorical gesture, it is a necessary and timely intervention in the geopolitical debate over AI. If the vision it outlines is matched with credible action, it could help build a more balanced, ethical, and human-centered AI landscape—benefiting not just the Global South, but the world.