Ensuring AI works for the Global South

WHILE artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to lower barriers and allow countries to participate in a new strand of the worldwide digital economy, it also creates demarcations between countries, companies and communities. Notably, the Global South – broadly the developing or “less developed” economies – risks being left behind technologically, economically, and politically.

Currently, AI datasets still under-represent the Global South context, while new models of compute are needed to avoid compute “deserts” – where countries end up unable to access essential AI processing power. And AI research, development, and standards-setting are being led by a handful of countries and companies.

Ensuring the participation of the Global South in the AI landscape is crucial to avoid exacerbating global digital, data, and innovation divides.