Cambodia's Minister of Post and Telecommunications, Minette Libom Li Likeng, opened a side forum at the World AI Conference in Shanghai, China, stating a clear demand: the Global South must not remain a passive consumer of foreign technologies or a recipient of standards set without considering its opinion.
According to her, governing artificial intelligence cannot be sustainable if it is not based on the active participation of all countries. The session, dedicated to sustainable development and AI governance, was jointly held by the Fudan University Center for Global AI Innovation and was deliberately focused on voices often ignored in global AI discussions.
Zhao Houlin, former Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union, noted that 2.2 billion people still lack internet access. He emphasized that discussing the development of local models is impossible if a country cannot ensure stable power supply and network infrastructure.
Nicholas Dirks, President of the New York Academy of Sciences and former Rector of the University of California, Berkeley, warned that corporate incentives do not always align with public interests. He cited the founder of DeepMind, who was forced to abandon scientific progress in 2020 to follow OpenAI after the launch of ChatGPT. Dirks stated that independent governing institutions are indispensable.
Cambodian official Sam Setseary, Director General of Cambodia's ICT Department, put forward one of the most provocative ideas: the countries that will lead in AI are not those with the most money for investment. He added that leaders should be those countries capable of winning public trust.
The forum led to several concrete outcomes: an updated AI ethics verification agent, a Global AI Governance Index covering 40 economies, an English-language collection of examples of AI application in small and medium businesses in Shanghai, and five reports on topics ranging from superintelligence risk to companion AI regulation.
The second round of the conference focused on the UN-supported AI Governance Capacity Building Network, which was launched in Geneva this month with the participation of 23 member centers. Mehdi Snenne, Senior Advisor to the UN Secretary-General's Digital Envoy, noted that this is only the beginning, as one initiative may not be enough to bridge the existing gap.
Khaled Gedira, Vice President of the African Council on Science and Innovation, recalled a statement by his US colleague: 'America invents, Europe regulates, and the rest consume.' He noted that this phrase has transformed into 'China and America invent, Europe regulates, and the rest consume.' Gedira concluded that within such a system, all states will have the opportunity to co-create, co-regulate, and co-consume.
The conference on artificial intelligence and high-level global AI governance will take place on July 17, 2026, at the Shanghai Exhibition Center in China. This meeting, along with the World AI Conference 2026 (WAIC), is dedicated to balancing innovation development with ensuring safety amid rapid AI progress.
During the event, several international specialists emphasized that China's early steps in AI regulation, as well as the country's active participation in initiatives to form international standards and build capacity, provide valuable experience for the global community in developing responsible and comprehensive AI. Furthermore, a roadmap for international ethical AI governance was presented, aimed at stimulating more coordinated and practical international cooperation in this field.
Mark Nisberg, Executive Director of the Human-Compatible AI Center at the University of California, Berkeley, stated China's significant contribution to global AI governance. He noted that several regulatory systems were introduced in China for the first time, adding that international researchers regularly exchange views with developers of Chinese norms, viewing this practice as a valuable benchmark.
Experts also highlighted China's role in establishing international AI standards. Sebastian Hallensleben, Chairman of JTC 21 CEN-CENELEC, where European standards supporting EU regulation are developed, noted that AI standardization is inherently an international process, despite regional differences. He stressed that China is one of the key participants in this process, leading several working groups and serving as an editor for numerous standards projects.
Another aspect covered at the conference was AI capacity building. As part of WAIC, China announced plans to provide 5000 opportunities for AI training and workshops to developing countries over the next five years.
Shahbaz Khan, Director and Representative of the UNESCO Regional Office for East Asia, pointed out that the international community already possesses principles of ethical AI, including the UNESCO Recommendation on the Ethics of AI. Nevertheless, he particularly highlighted the need for countries to have sufficient capacity to understand these principles and integrate them into their legal systems. In this context, he noted that China's capacity-building efforts will provide significant support.
IT Secretary S Krishnan emphasized that adapting and preparing skills for the age of artificial intelligence will be a key factor in realizing India's aspiration to leverage its talent in STEM and transform into a global center for artificial intelligence-based solutions.
Speaking at the CII GCC Business Summit, Krishnan noted that the adoption of AI in the corporate sector lags globally, creating an opportunity for Global Capability Centers (GCCs) in India to play a decisive role. He added that AI paves the way for moving away from routine tasks, as automation takes over low-level functions, allowing people to focus on higher-value tasks.
According to Krishnan, the government's approach to AI has been 'extremely positive' and initially characterized by an 'optimistic outlook.' He believes that India should strive to become a global node for AI applications and solutions, utilizing its human capital to drive the adoption of this technology in enterprises.
Despite the acceleration of global investments in AI infrastructure and foundational models, the implementation of these technologies in companies remains limited, presenting a significant opportunity for GCCs in India. Krishnan specified that it is the GCCs that must perform the function of transferring and shifting higher-level functions across various segments.
The Secretary also highlighted that human interaction will remain relevant when deploying AI applications and solutions. He stressed the importance of revising curricula in both educational institutions and companies to prepare the workforce for the new AI era. In this regard, the government is collaborating with industry associations to launch targeted upskilling initiatives.
Krishnan noted that the country's success in leveraging AI and its strengths in STEM depends on the ability to reorient skills. Furthermore, he reported that central authorities and states have implemented a series of reforms—from tax clarity to labor code measures and simplification of business norms—to encourage the creation of GCCs. He added that it is now time to assess how much these changes have accelerated GCC growth and how AI concerns are affecting this pace.
In San Francisco, in the center of Richmond, over two hundred people are on the waiting list for a food bank. This center is located just a few miles west of 'AI Alley,' where major artificial intelligence companies are concentrated, attracting billions in investment and paying high salaries to employees. This, in turn, leads to a sharp rise in housing and rental costs.
San Francisco serves as a stark example of how the rapidly developing AI industry contributes to overall economic growth while masking growing economic inequality among low- and middle-income families. This situation reflects broader national trends in the US.
According to the Department of Commerce, in the first three months of the year, the US economy as a whole demonstrated confident growth at an annual rate of 2.1%, largely driven by increased business investment in AI. However, consumer sentiment remains at historic lows due to wartime price surges. Furthermore, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, the quarter of the population with the lowest incomes showed the weakest wage growth among all cohorts this year.
Yves Xavier, Community Programs Director at Richmond Center, told CNN: 'Inequalities in the neighborhood were just growing and growing. We cannot draw a direct line to the impact of AI and say, 'This is exactly it.' But you don't need to be a genius scientist to see how it is expanding inequality in a city that already faces these issues.' He added that demand for the non-profit food bank has increased by about 10% this year.
The widening gap between the poorest and richest Americans has become a key theme in the US economy, and experts believe AI plays a significant role in this. According to an Oxford Economics report, billions invested in the AI industry have created a group of well-paid workers in tech hubs across the country, including San Francisco, New York, Seattle, Los Angeles, San Jose, and Washington, D.C. These workers are part of the top 10% of wealthiest Americans, whose spending, according to Moody's, accounts for up to 62% of US economic growth.
Manuel Pastor, Director of the Institute for Equality Research at the University of Southern California, noted: 'You see an incredible concentration of wealth resulting from AI for these new companies, their founders, and early employees. It exacerbates the winner-takes-all economy.'
Experts told CNN that today's economic winners are clearly linked to the development and funding of AI, including early investors. SpaceX debuted on Wall Street last month as the largest initial public offering to date. This company, involved in AI and space exploration, is now valued at over $2.1 trillion, and investors expect this to benefit American retirement accounts. AI leaders OpenAI and Anthropic, both headquartered in San Francisco, are also preparing for their own IPOs, which could add trillions in new market value. According to the firm Crunchbase, San Francisco companies account for nearly two-thirds of global AI funding.
Among those losing out are vast segments of Americans, especially recent college graduates struggling to find jobs; low-income individuals who continue to accumulate debt due to noticeable inflation; and creative industry workers, according to Pastor. He emphasized that 'what people put online or in books is privatized by these AI companies, making it harder for those same people to earn a living. This happens to authors, musicians, anyone who is a creative person.'
The AI frenzy is also distorting the state of businesses on Main Street. Maxim Darme, Senior Economist at Allianz Trade, observed: 'If you exclude AI, business investment was actually falling, which is quite an unprecedented phenomenon outside of recessions. The technology strongly supports the economy, but at the same time, spending in more traditional areas is shrinking.'
Meanwhile, the gap between broader AI-driven economic growth and the reality of millions of Americans continues to widen. Xavier summarized regarding San Francisco: 'Inequalities here are very, very obvious. It has been a long-standing problem, and I think it just continues to be one.'
