inance. This document includes a section on countering Chinese influence in the AI space. For its part, China’s Global AI Govern- ance Action Plan appears to be a more collaborative document. But in the real world, Beijing’s contest with Washing- ton over the spoils of AI is clear for all to see. Beijing has ordered China’s best- known AI success story, DeepSeek, to use Chinese-made Huawei Ascend semi-con- ductor chips for its next-generation development efforts. Beijing suffered a massive embarrassment when Deep Seek, having concluded that the Huawei chips were not up to the task, reverted to Nvidia technology made in the United States and Taiwan. In effect, the current Cold War 2.0 competitive global envi- ronment between the US and China and their respective ‘teams’ is constraining the Global South from developing its own skills and capacities in AI. EMPOWERING THE GLOBAL SOUTH THROUGH INCLUSIVE AI ECOSYSTEMS Still, South Africa, holding the 2025 G20 presidency, has promoted several useful actions to develop critical AI capacity in Africa and other Global South com- munities. The key exercise right now is AI diffusion, where AI applications are customised and deployed for daily use in education, health care and agricul- ture and in various industries in local economies. To this end, South Africa has emphasised programmes on the African continent that are establishing AI insti- tutes and AI-related scholarships, and expanding digital literacy programmes, all of which reflect the values and con- cerns of African countries and their citizens. Going forward, US and Chinese com- panies, such as OpenAI and Huawei, will be very active in the Global South peddling their AI and related digital infrastructure products and services.
One strategy for countries in the Global South is to weigh the long-term costs of these offerings against what might be a better fit – namely AI models from other countries that impose fewer constraints on the user, thereby allowing greater cus- tomisation of AI solutions to reflect local Global South conditions and aspirations. BRIDGING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE Until recently it was hoped that the United Nations might be able to sup- port the development of an independent hyperscale data centre that would make AI available to Global South countries on a preferential basis. The UN’s current financial and organisational challenges make such an offering unrealistic at this time. Other, more piecemeal solutions need to be pressed into operation in the Global South, and quickly. In this regard, it is worth highlight- ing that AI model companies such as France’s Mistral and Canada’s Cohere offer various options customised for the Global South that can bring practi- cal, tangible benefits, without many of the strings attached to products and ser- vices from companies operating out of the US or China. Similarly, Global South countries should consider the expertise offered by Taiwan, especially through its Global Alliance for Taiwan Technology Diplomacy, which helps develop and then sustain AI projects in the Global South through training AI talent and exporting (and modifying for local application) AI best practices to universities and insti- tutes in the Global South. The G20 should continue to serve as a valuable forum where a more fair, less politically fraught approach to AI development and diffusion will allow countries from the Global South to find their own pace and focus in the world’s AI race. This goal is critically important to help ensure that the world’s current digital divide does not become an AI chasm.
this year’s president of the G20, is sensi- bly focusing on AI development for the Global South. The current bifurcated geopolitical landscape for AI development, adop- tion and governance is evidenced by both the United States and China releasing important global AI strategy documents in July 2025. America’s AI Action Plan makes it clear that Washington wants to wage and win the war for global AI dom-
With growth slowing and families struggling to make ends meet, it is an appalling injustice when money ends up in the hands of criminals – money that could be spent on much-needed global growth and development” // GEORGE TAKACH George Takach is a former tech lawyer who is now a senior fellow at the Bill Graham Centre for Con- temporary International History at the University of Toronto. His latest book, Cold War 2.0: Artificial Intelligence in the New Battle Between China, Russia and America , was published in English in 2024 and in Chinese in 2025. His forthcoming book, Inspired by Taiwan , will be available in November 2025.
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