Ramaphosa calls for global AI governance at 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi

President Cyril Ramaphosa has called on BRICS nations to establish an international mechanism for the independent scientific evaluation of artificial intelligence (AI), backed by mandatory incident reporting and human-control safeguards.

Speaking at the 18th BRICS Leaders’ Summit in New Delhi during the session on Shaping the Future for Inclusive Global Growth, Ramaphosa noted that the 20th anniversary of BRICS is a moment to reaffirm commitment to deeper cooperation in science, technology, innovation, sustainable development and economic transformation.

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Inclusive growth requires action on poverty and inequality, the devastating effects of climate change and the rapid advances in technology. The increasing frequency and intensity of climate-related disasters threaten to reverse development gains and deepen inequality, making resilience essential for inclusive growth and human development.

Commending India for prioritising resilience, Ramaphosa linked this focus directly to the Disaster Risk Reduction outcomes of South Africa’s G20 Presidency. Disaster risk reduction must be integrated into macroeconomic policy, climate financing and sustainable infrastructure, ensuring vulnerable countries receive equitable access to technology, finance and capacity to withstand shocks.

Critical minerals and energy transition

The global energy transition must prioritise re-skilling, protecting livelihoods and anchoring new industries that generate quality jobs. Markets for critical minerals and transition technologies should be built on transparency, with diversified and responsible value chains. Beneficiation of minerals must take place at source to ensure inclusive growth in Africa and other regions.

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Used effectively and responsibly, AI can support efforts to reduce inequality, poverty and underdevelopment while transforming medicine, education, scientific discovery, agriculture and productivity. However, those developing the most powerful systems have warned about capabilities for advanced cyber operations, assistance in biological weapons development, autonomous action, manipulation, mass surveillance, employment disruption and systems that may become difficult for humans to control.

Independent scientific evaluation proposed

AI should neither be feared nor approached recklessly, and human governance must advance as rapidly as the technology itself. AI companies should be subject to formal external checks, audits and government authority, as is standard in aviation, pharmaceuticals, nuclear power and financial institutions. Technological capability must never move beyond the capacity to understand, supervise and control it.

South Africa therefore proposes that BRICS establish an international mechanism for the independent scientific evaluation of AI. This framework should be backed by meaningful human-control principles, mandatory reporting of serious incidents, progressively stronger safeguards as capability increases, and simultaneous investment in sovereign AI capacity for developing economy countries.

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Scientific cooperation was supported in ongoing initiatives such as the BRICS Intelligent Telescope and Data Network and the BRICS Vaccine Research and Development Centre. Medical sovereignty, vaccine development, genomic surveillance and diagnostic capabilities for the Global South must be strengthened, alongside agricultural transformation through innovation.

Financial interconnectivity and regional growth

Economic and financial cooperation remains central to resilience. South Africa supports a balanced and gradual expansion of the New Development Bank and welcomes discussion of the proposed New Investment Platform and the BRICS Multilateral Guarantees initiative. Greater use of local currencies, stronger cross-border payment systems and deeper financial interconnectivity should be pursued.

As BRICS enters its third decade, member states should deepen cooperation with Partner Countries in public health, education, science and technology, finance and trade.

In the 40th anniversary year of the UN Resolution on the Right to Development, BRICS was called on to renew its commitment to the inalienable human right to development.

Ramaphosa concluded his address with a call from Indian poet and leader Sarojini Naidu: ‘We want deeper sincerity of motive, a greater courage in speech and earnestness in action.’

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