Making AI a force for all
The BRICS collaborative framework is reshaping global governance of smart systems, ensuring that its future is written through the collective wisdom of a multipolar world
As artificial intelligence weaves itself into the fabric of economies and societies, a central question is no longer what AI can do, but who gets to shape its future and who shares in its benefits. Against the backdrop of accelerating technological evolution, the BRICS countries have articulated a clear and compelling answer: Global AI governance must meet the needs of all countries. Through a combination of high-level political consensus, institutional innovation and practical, development-first cooperation, the BRICS countries are offering a distinctive governance model that is steadily reshaping the global conversation on artificial intelligence.
The values embedded in the BRICS approach did not appear in isolation. They represent the steady ascent of a concept that China has championed for several years — AI for good. In 2023, China launched the Global AI Governance Initiative, putting people-centered development, the idea of “AI for good”, as well as the principles of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit, at the heart of the international discourse. That proposition gained remarkable traction in 2024, when the United Nations General Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution on AI capacity-building that China co-sponsored, a move that firmly linked governance to development. By the time the BRICS leaders’ statement formally endorsed these principles in 2025, what began as a vision had unmistakably become a common voice of the Global South.
Today, “AI for good” serves as the working guideline within the BRICS cooperation framework. It means ensuring that AI systems serve sustainable development through a people-centered vision. It involves jointly developing ethical benchmarks that prevent the misuse of AI while preserving space for innovation tailored to national realities. The BRICS countries can advance harmonized frameworks for AI ethics and safety that emphasize both risk mitigation and developmental benefits. Joint programs to combat AI-generated misinformation, promote algorithmic transparency and integrate AI literacy into public education should be designed not as exclusive standards but as shared public goods available to all interested partners. The framework can specifically highlight the need to safeguard vulnerable groups from algorithmic bias, ensuring that AI systems respect linguistic, cultural, geographical and demographic diversity.
In July 2025, the 17th BRICS Summit adopted the BRICS Leaders’ Statement on the Global Governance of AI, a historic document that laid out principles, which are representative, development-oriented, accessible, inclusive, dynamic and responsive. This was more than a diplomatic milestone. It signaled the rise of a governance philosophy that places the needs of the Global South at the center of the international AI agenda, while respecting the digital sovereignty of every nation.
AI development should not become the privilege of a few countries, nor a manipulation tool in the hands of elites. Otherwise, global AI governance may deepen existing inequalities by imposing one-size-fits-all regulatory frameworks before the vast majority of nations have had a chance to build fundamental AI capabilities. The BRICS framework, by contrast, focuses on development with a people-centered vision. Rather than beginning with complex restrictions that may inadvertently exclude, it prioritizes empowering countries of the Global South to fully participate in global AI governance.
The BRICS leaders’ statement explicitly affirms the right of all nations to reap the benefits of the digital economy and emerging technologies while upholding fundamental rights. It calls for expanding digital infrastructure, sharing open-source datasets and AI models, and cultivating homegrown talent. This political commitment has already translated into concrete actions. Under the BRICS cooperation framework, joint AI research and development centers are being established, and skills training programs are reaching numerous engineers and students across the BRICS countries. By making accessibility and inclusion non-negotiable starting points, the BRICS approach provides a new paradigm to help transform AI from a potential source of widening divides into an engine of shared progress.
Bold principles require operational engines to turn vision into reality. That engine was given a powerful boost in September 2025 when Chinese Premier Li Qiang proposed the AI+ International Cooperation Initiative at a high-level meeting on the Global Development Initiative. The proposal advocates embedding AI into key areas such as people’s livelihoods, scientific research and industrial transformation, with the overarching goal of making AI a truly international public good that benefits humanity.
The initiative dovetails seamlessly with the BRICS governance principles. It is not a distant pledge but an actionable cooperation matrix. Within the BRICS framework, this translates into projects that directly tackle the “high willingness, low capacity” dilemma some developing countries face. For example, China and Brazil have piloted AI-enabled smart agriculture projects to help smallholder farmers boost yields and manage resources sustainably. This embodies the BRICS conviction that AI governance should be measured not only by the rules it sets, but by the tangible benefits it delivers to ordinary people.
These efforts are backed by a growing ecosystem of shared resources. BRICS countries can work on interoperable computing platforms, mutual recognition of data governance standards and joint open-source AI innovation communities. The China-BRICS New Quality Productive Forces Research Center, which opened in Beijing this January, promotes academic dialogue and research on new quality productive forces under a hybrid cooperation model. All of this reinforces one core insight: Once capabilities are broadly distributed, legitimate governance rules will emerge from inclusive, representative processes that honor the diverse developmental priorities of all nations.
The BRICS approach to AI governance is reshaping the global landscape by demonstrating that technological progress and inclusive governance can advance hand in hand. It shows that Global South countries need not choose between embracing AI’s transformative potential and safeguarding their sovereignty and values.
By championing development-first and people-centered pathways, concrete “AI+” cooperation and the shared value of “AI for good”, BRICS is helping build a world where AI serves as a force for all.
Looking ahead, the bloc’s continued emphasis on open collaboration, shared capacity-building and UN-centered multilateralism offers a blueprint for global AI governance that leaves no country and no person behind. In an era of rapid technological change, the BRICS message is clear: The future of AI should be written not in a single language or from a single perspective, but through the collective wisdom of a multipolar world committed to shared prosperity.
Jiang Qingquan is a professor at the BRICS Economic Research Center at Xiamen University of Technology. Zhang Xiaosan is an associate professor at the Xiamen National Accounting Institute.
The authors contributed this article to China Watch, a think tank powered by China Daily. The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.
Contact the editor at editor@chinawatch.cn.
