BRICS leaders have called for broader access to artificial intelligence (AI) resources and stronger international cooperation to ensure the technology is safe, secure, inclusive and reliable, and that its potential risks are mitigated, as they committed to implementing the grouping’s statement on the global governance of AI.
The New Delhi Declaration 2026, adopted at the 18th BRICS Summit held in the national capital, laid out a wide-ranging technology agenda spanning AI, cybersecurity, digital public infrastructure (DPI), telecom and submarine networks, quantum technologies, startups and advanced manufacturing.
The declaration acknowledged the immense opportunity AI offers to stimulate economic growth and sustainable development, while calling for concerted and inclusive efforts to address challenges in the digital realm, including threats to information and communications technology (ICT) security, malicious software, data security, cybercrime, misinformation, hate speech, disinformation and deepfakes.
It called for fostering AI for science and innovation, developing trustworthy AI technologies, improving energy efficiency of AI systems and mitigating potential risks, with a view to ensuring a just, fair, equitable and prosperous future for all countries, particularly those of the Global South.
The declaration also underscored the transformative potential of resilient, safe, secure, inclusive and interoperable digital public infrastructure and digital public goods, and highlighted India’s AI Impact Summit held in February and the World AI Conference and High-Level Meeting on Global AI Governance in Shanghai.