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View all search resultsGlobal AI governance as the new frontier of diplomacy
Foreign policy must come with a strategic vision of states to maximize the benefits of the AI’s use and mitigate its risks.
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Artificial interaction: People interact with a humanoid robot at a Fourier booth on July 26, 2025, during the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai, China. (Reuters/Go Nakamura)
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ontemporary diplomacy transcends conventional geo-politics and geo-economic statecraft. Its landscape has expanded to a new frontier as a result of the transformative effect of artificial intelligence. Therefore, foreign policy must come with a strategic vision of states to maximize the benefits of the AI’s use and mitigate its risks.
As the new currency of power, AI has redrawn the world order. Some major powers, metaphorically described as digital empires, prioritize AI development as a strategic imperative. They are competing for dominance in shaping global norms, controlling critical supply chains, and maintaining technological superiority.
In contrast, for the Global South, the current trajectory of AI leads to unjust outcomes of AI development as it has just deepened global inequalities. The impact will not be experienced in the developing countries only. It will be felt everywhere.
Throughout history, major powers competed for spices, gold and oil. At present, in the AI era, the digital empires with their big-tech companies are seeking data, images, text, speech and behavioral traces to feed their AI systems.
Leaving this practice of data extraction ungoverned means allowing digital colonialism to emerge. The unchecked rapid development of AI will enable the exploitation and weaponization of AI for malicious purposes. Numerous studies have warned the world order without robust governance on AI will further distort the global power dynamic.
For the Global South, there is no option other than insisting digital sovereignty to counterbalance this domination. Their primary objectives are to ensure equitable access to AI benefits and prevent exploitation by the digital empires and their tech giants.
Against this backdrop, the Global South are now considering the need to establish a global governance framework. In line with this vision, President Prabowo Subianto has emphasized the need to build a regulatory framework allowing the establishment of a secure and resilient AI ecosystem. This highlights the importance of responsible and collaborative approaches to ensure that AI is developed and used in ways that promote security and fairness.
