Global South’s role in AI governance explored at IGF 2024
Experts emphasised the need for capacity building and ethical AI governance to ensure meaningful inclusion of the Global South.

The inclusion of the Global South, particularly the MENA region, in AI governance emerged as a key focus in a recent panel discussion as part of the Internet Governance Forum 2024. Experts examined persistent challenges such as the technology gap, regulatory uncertainty, and limited local infrastructure, which hinder the region’s participation in the global AI ecosystem.
Nibal Idlebi from UN ESCWA emphasised that the lack of computational resources and access to local data significantly impedes AI development. Jill Nelson of the IEEE Standards Association stressed the need to improve AI literacy and foster talent pipelines, particularly in decision-making roles. Ethical considerations also featured prominently, with Jasmin Alduri highlighting concerns about the exploitation of click workers involved in AI data labelling.
Roeske Martin from Google MENA called for clearer regulations to boost private sector involvement, arguing that regulatory uncertainty holds back investment and innovation. He proposed accelerator programmes to support local AI startups, including those led by women. Panellists also urged better Arabic language integration in AI tools to increase accessibility and adoption across the MENA region.
Amid the challenges, opportunities for growth were identified, including leveraging synthetic data generation and creating public data-sharing initiatives. Collaboration between governments, industry, and civil society was deemed crucial to developing AI frameworks that address local needs while adhering to global standards.
The panel concluded with cautious optimism, underscoring the MENA region’s potential to become an AI innovation hub. With targeted investments in capacity building and infrastructure, the Global South can play a greater role in shaping the future of AI governance.
All transcripts from the Internet Governance Forum sessions can be found on dig.watch.