By Naghm Ghei

Artificial intelligence is reshaping every part of society. development  and deployment is becoming increasingly transnational. The datasets used to train AI systems often come from multiple countries. The models themselves may be built in one region and deployed in another, affecting people and institutions far from their point of origin. This global interconnectedness raises a fundamental question: how do we govern a technology that doesn’t respect borders?

Countries are responding in different ways, some with binding regulations, others with ethical frameworks or innovation-led approaches. These efforts reflect local realities: varying levels of digital infrastructure, social priorities, and political cultures. And while there’s no one-size-fits-all solution, there is a growing recognition that national strategies alone are not enough.

When AI systems cross jurisdictions, so do their risks and their opportunities. Bias in algorithms, export of surveillance technologies, etc are all shared ripple effects of AI. This makes international collaboration necessary. There is a need to co-create a baseline of principles, safeguards, and channels for accountability that transcend geography.

We often think of regulation as loud and reactive. But in the world of AI, some of the most meaningful work is being done through frameworks, principles, and multilateral efforts.

Take the OECD’s Principles on Artificial Intelligence. These were among the first widely accepted global guidelines. Rather than prescribing rules, they offered north stars: ideas like fairness, transparency, and human-centred design. More than 40 countries, including India, took them seriously enough to integrate them into national strategies.

Then there’s UNESCO, which has led the charge on AI ethics from a broader, values-driven lens. Their 2021 recommendation, signed by nearly 200 countries, isn’t about code or compliance. It’s about human dignity, sustainability, and inclusion. At their recent summit in Paris, people from very different backgrounds shared how AI is landing in their worlds, from Indigenous communities speaking about data sovereignty to Brazilian civil society unpacking algorithmic bias. It wasn’t a tech conference. It felt more like a global listening circle.

Meanwhile, the ITU, the UN agency responsible for digital infrastructure, is doing the patient work of setting standards. It sounds technical, but these are the protocols that determine how AI functions in real-world systems like telemedicine or education apps.

The World Economic Forum has also emerged as a bridge. With initiatives like the Global AI Action Alliance, it’s bringing together governments, companies, and research bodies to co-create governance tools that are agile, inclusive, and practical. It’s less about declarations and more about shaping mechanisms that actually work in diverse settings.

Why Countries Like India Are Central to the Conversation

India’s role in this landscape is particularly interesting. It’s not just a tech hub. It’s also home to some of the world’s most ambitious digital public infrastructure, like Aadhaar and UPI. And yet, it also deals with deep linguistic diversity, rural connectivity gaps, and concerns around access and equity.

This dual identity, both advanced and developing, makes India a kind of bridge. The upcoming Global AI Impact Summit, hosted in India, is a chance to bring that perspective to the world stage: that tech needs to serve public good, that governance must stay grounded in real people’s lives, and that innovation can still be affordable, open, and inclusive.

Collaboration Over Competition

The idea isn’t to slow innovation down or tie it up in bureaucracy. It’s to ensure that the systems we build don’t leave people behind. Collaboration doesn’t mean we all have to agree. It means we show up, listen, and build enough shared understanding to move forward with mutual respect.

Yes, countries will continue to regulate AI based on their own political and legal realities. That’s necessary. But they also need forums where they can debate, disagree, learn, and realign when needed. Whether it’s through standard-setting bodies like the ITU, soft law frameworks like the OECD, or global summits hosted by UNESCO or India, these platforms matter.

​​Most recently, the United Nations General Assembly took a major step by establishing two new mechanisms for global AI governance: the Independent International Scientific Panel on AI and the Global Dialogue on AI Governance. The Panel will provide rigorous, evidence-based assessments to guide policymakers, while the Dialogue will serve as an inclusive platform for governments and stakeholders to debate, share best practices, and build common ground. Together, they represent the first formal, multilateral architecture for governing AI, turning years of calls for collaboration into concrete action.

The establishment of these institutions is an early but significant proof that collaboration is possible. The challenge now is to ensure these bodies remain inclusive, credible, and grounded in people’s lived realities so that global governance is not just aspirational, but effective.

The future of AI governance doesn’t belong to one country or one company. It belongs to all of us, and how well we can collaborate to make technology safer, fairer, and more human.