Ramaphosa called on BRICS countries to strengthen cooperation on climate change, artificial intelligence and sustainable development.
President Cyril Ramaphosa shakes hands with Chinese president Xi Jinping . Picture: GCIS.
President Cyril Ramaphosa says South Africa supports China’s proposal to build an Artificial Intelligence (AI) ecosystem for BRICS countries, calling for a cooperative, safe and inclusive framework that advances Global South technology sharing.
Ramaphosa made the remarks during the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi, India on Sunday, 13 September 2026.
AI
Ramaphosa called on Brics countries to strengthen cooperation on climate change, artificial intelligence and sustainable development, saying developing economies must be better equipped to withstand future global shocks.
The president emphasised a cooperative, safe, and inclusive framework for AI within BRICS, aligning with broader Global South technology sharing.
“South Africa accordingly proposes that Brics should establish an international mechanism for the independent scientific evaluation of AI. This should be backed by meaningful human control principles, mandatory reporting, reporting of serious incidents, and there have been serious incidents already.
“Progressively stronger safeguards such as capability increases and simultaneous investment in sovereign AI capacity for developing economy countries,” Ramaphosa said.
Warning
Ramaphosa said AI must be harnessed responsibly to drive inclusive growth while guarding against risks that could spiral beyond human control.
“Artificial intelligence has the potential to usher in a new era of productivity and human progress. If used effectively and responsibly, it can help reduce inequality, poverty and underdevelopment,” he said.
Dangers
Ramaphosa warned that unchecked AI development carries serious dangers.
“Developers themselves are warning about systems capable of cyber operations, biological weapons assistance, mass surveillance and autonomous action. We must ensure human governance advances as rapidly as AI itself,” Ramaphosa said,
“We agree with industry leaders such as Dario Amodei of Anthropic, who argue that AI companies should face external checks, audits and government authority,” Ramaphosa noted.
“Such oversight is standard practice in other industries whose activities have a significant impact on human safety and well-being, such as aviation, pharmaceuticals, nuclear power and financial institutions. We must never reach a situation where technological capability has moved beyond our capacity to understand it, supervise it and control it,” the president said.
Initiative
He linked AI to broader BRICS cooperation in resilience, climate adaptation and sustainable growth, commending India for prioritising disaster risk reduction.
Ramaphosa also highlighted ongoing initiatives such as the BRICS Vaccine Research Centre and the Intelligent Telescope and Data Network, which he said strengthen medical sovereignty for the Global South.
On finance, he backed expansion of the New Development Bank, greater use of local currencies and stronger cross‑border payment systems, adding that as Brics enters its third decade, “it should be more ambitious.”
