Global Governance of Artificial Intelligence: Shaping an Inclusive, Secure and Rules-Based AI Order
Syllabus Mapping: GS-2: International Relations – Global Governance, International Institutions & India’s Interests
GS-3: Science & Technology – Artificial Intelligence & Emerging Technologies
Artificial Intelligence has emerged as a defining technology of the twenty-first century, reshaping economies, security and global influence. As nations increasingly compete not only to develop advanced AI systems but also to shape the rules governing their use, establishing an inclusive, secure and representative global AI governance framework has become a strategic imperative.
Why Does the World Need a Global AI Governance Framework?
- Transnational Governance: Artificial Intelligence transcends national boundaries through cross-border data flows, cloud infrastructure and digital platforms, making unilateral regulation inadequate. Eg: The UN Global Digital Compact (2024) calls for strengthened international cooperation to govern emerging digital technologies.
- Responsible AI: A common governance framework is essential to prevent algorithmic bias, protect privacy, ensure transparency and uphold human rights across jurisdictions. Eg: UNESCO Recommendation on the Ethics of AI (2021)—endorsed by 193 Member States—lays down global ethical principles for AI.
- Collective AI Security: The rapid proliferation of autonomous weapons, AI-enabled cyberattacks, deepfakes and disinformation has transformed AI into a transnational security concern requiring collective oversight. Eg: The UN New Agenda for Peace (2023) advocates international norms for the responsible military use of AI.
- Addressing Economic and Labour Market Disruptions: AI is reshaping industries, employment and global value chains, requiring coordinated international policies for responsible innovation, workforce transition and inclusive economic growth. Eg: The IMF (2024) estimates that AI could affect around 40% of global employment.
- Preserving AI as a Global Public Good: AI should contribute to sustainable development, healthcare, education and climate action rather than becoming an instrument of technological monopoly or strategic exclusion.
- Bridging the Global AI Divide: An inclusive governance framework can ensure equitable access to AI infrastructure, compute capacity, datasets and talent, enabling developing countries to participate meaningfully in the AI revolution. Eg: India’s G20 New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration (2023) and IndiaAI Mission advocate AI for All.
What are the Key Challenges in Building an Inclusive, Secure and Rules-Based AI Order?
- Regulatory Fragmentation: Divergent national AI regulations create legal uncertainty, increase compliance costs and hinder cross-border innovation, trade and interoperability. Eg: The EU AI Act, US AI Action Plan, and China’s AI Regulations reflect contrasting governance philosophies.
- Intensifying AI Geopolitics: The strategic rivalry between major powers has transformed AI into an arena of technological competition, with countries competing over chips, compute, frontier models and global rule-making. Eg: US restrictions on advanced AI chip exports
- Compute Inequality: The concentration of computing infrastructure, advanced semiconductors, datasets and AI capabilities among a few countries risks excluding developing economies from the AI revolution.
- Weak Cross-Border Data Governance: Differences in data protection laws, cross-border data transfer rules and digital sovereignty concerns impede international AI collaboration. Eg: Contrasting approaches under the EU GDPR, India’s DPDP Act, 2023, etc.
- Algorithmic Bias and Accountability Deficit: Opaque AI systems trained on biased datasets can reinforce discrimination while making it difficult to assign responsibility for AI-driven decisions.
- AI Oligopoly: A handful of countries and technology firms dominate advanced AI models, high-performance computing, semiconductor manufacturing and AI research talent, creating structural inequalities.
- Institutional Vacuum: Unlike climate change or international trade, AI lacks a universally accepted multilateral institution capable of setting common standards, resolving disputes and ensuring equitable participation.
How Can the International Community Build an Inclusive, Secure and Rules-Based AI Order?
- Establish a UN-Led Global AI Governance Framework: Create an inclusive multilateral institutional mechanism under the UN to coordinate AI norms, facilitate policy dialogue, resolve disputes and ensure equitable participation of all countries. Eg: Build upon the recommendations of the UN High-Level Advisory Body on AI (2024).
- Develop Universally Accepted Ethical Principles: Adopt common global principles on transparency, fairness, accountability, privacy, explainability and human rights to guide responsible AI development and deployment. Eg: UNESCO Recommendation on the Ethics of AI (2021) and the OECD AI Principles provide a globally accepted normative foundation.
- Adopt Adaptive and Risk-Based Regulation: Shift from one-size-fits-all regulation to a proportionate, risk-based approach that balances innovation with safety, focusing stricter oversight on high-risk AI systems.
- Negotiate a Global AI Framework or Treaty: Develop an international legal framework to govern frontier AI, autonomous weapons, cross-border data use and AI safety through shared rules and accountability mechanisms. Eg: The Bletchley Declaration (2023) and subsequent AI Safety Summits have laid the groundwork for coordinated global action.
- Collaborative AI Ecosystem: Promote collaborative AI research, trusted semiconductor supply chains, compute-sharing mechanisms and global talent partnerships to reduce technological asymmetries.
- AI Equity: Strengthen access to computing infrastructure, datasets, digital public infrastructure, financing and AI skills to ensure that developing countries can participate meaningfully in the AI ecosystem. Eg: The UN Global Digital Compact (2024) advocates capacity building and equitable access to AI for developing economies.
The future of AI will be determined not merely by technological breakthroughs, but by the strength of the global institutions and norms that govern them. A rules-based, inclusive and human-centric AI order is essential to ensure that AI remains a force for shared prosperity rather than strategic division.
PRELIMS BOOSTERS
1 . National Maritime Heritage Complex (NMHC), Lothal
- Recently, the National Maritime Heritage Complex (NMHC) at Lothal, Gujarat is nearing inauguration. The first phase includes a life-size recreation of the Harappan town of Lothal, showcasing its dockyard, markets and maritime legacy to highlight India’s 4,500-year-old seafaring tradition.
- National Maritime Heritage Complex (NMHC) is being developed at Lothal, Gujarat under the Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways (MoPSW). It aims to become the world’s largest maritime museum.
- The centerpiece of the museum is an 80 m × 80 m life-size reconstruction of the Harappan town of Lothal.
- Lothal is famous for the world’s earliest known man-made dockyard, located on the banks of Bhogavo River.
- Excavations at Lothal were carried out by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) between 1955–62 under R. Rao.
- Important discoveries at Lothal include: Dockyard + Bead-making factory + Warehouse + Fire altars + Standardized weights and measures + Seals with Indus script.
- The museum traces India’s maritime history from the Harappan period to the modern era, including ancient trade with Mesopotamia, Egypt and West Asia.
- Lothal is one of the important sites included in India’s UNESCO Tentative List.
- Lothal maintained maritime trade with Mesopotamia (Sumer), Bahrain (Dilmun) and Oman (Magan).
- The city followed a grid-pattern layout with a citadel and lower town, typical of mature Harappan urban planning. Like other Harappan sites, it had an advanced drainage and sanitation system.
2. Electronic Gold Receipts (EGRs)
- Recently, SEBI introduced the Electronic Gold Receipts (EGRs) segment on stock exchanges, Electronic Gold Receipt (EGR) is a SEBI-regulated security representing ownership of physical gold deposited in SEBI-accredited vaults.
- EGRs are traded on recognised stock exchanges such as NSE and BSE, similar to equity shares.
- They are held in demat accounts and settled through the depository system.
- Every EGR is backed by 995 purity gold stored in accredited vaults.
- Standard denominations include 995 mg, 5 g, 10 g, 100 g and 1 kg.
- Investors can convert EGRs into physical gold by surrendering the receipt and paying applicable vaulting and delivery charges.
- EGRs facilitate transparent price discovery, nationwide trading and assured purity.
- Trading follows the normal stock market timings with T+1 settlement.
- The framework for EGRs was introduced through the SEBI (Vault Managers) Regulations, 2021.
- Vault Managers are SEBI-registered entities responsible for storage, assaying and issuance/redemption of EGRs.
- The India International Bullion Exchange (IIBX) at GIFT City facilitates international bullion trading, while EGRs are traded on domestic stock exchanges.
- EGR ≠ Sovereign Gold Bond (SGB):
- EGR: Backed by physical gold stored in vaults.
- SGB: Government security issued by RBI, linked to gold prices and carries interest.
- EGR ≠ Gold ETF:
- EGR: Direct claim on specific physical gold with redemption option.
- Gold ETF: Mutual fund investing in gold; redemption is generally in cash.
3. Vikram-1 Launch Vehicle
- Recently, Skyroot Aerospace successfully launched Vikram-1 under the ‘Aagaman’ mission, making India the fourth country after the USA, Russia and China whose private sector has independently placed a payload into orbit.
- Vikram-1 is India’s first privately developed orbital launch vehicle.
- Vikram-1 is a three-stage, all-solid-fuel Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV class) designed to place small satellites into Low Earth Orbit (LEO).
- The rocket extensively uses Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer (CFRP), making it significantly lighter than conventional metallic structures.
- The Raman engine incorporates 3D-printed components manufactured through additive manufacturing, reducing component count, weight and production time.
- 3D Printing (Additive Manufacturing) builds components layer-by-layer, unlike conventional subtractive manufacturing.
- Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) uses solid + liquid stages, whereas Vikram-1 uses only solid propulsion.
- Solid propellant rockets are mechanically simpler, easier to store and provide high initial thrust but cannot be throttled or restarted after ignition.
- It is the second mission of Skyroot after the successful Vikram-S suborbital flight on 18 November 2022, which became the first private Indian rocket to reach space.
- All stages of the launch vehicle have been integrated and stacked at the launch pad.
- Vikram-1 is designed to place small satellites into Low Earth Orbit (LEO).
- Low Earth Orbit (LEO): Extends from about 160 km to 2,000 km above Earth; commonly used for Earth observation, communication constellations and scientific satellites.
