Developing Nations Demand Greater Voice in AI Governance as UN Debate Intensifies

Developing Nations Challenge AI Governance Status Quo at United Nations

Developing nations are demanding a greater role in shaping AI governance, warning that artificial intelligence could deepen global inequalities if its development and regulation remain concentrated in wealthy countries1

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. The debate at last week's United Nations festival of diplomacy in New York highlighted mounting concern among leaders from Africa, Asia and Latin America around the increasingly powerful technology after several safety breaches2

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"Developing countries cannot be reduced to the role of mere users of technologies designed elsewhere, nor should be the mere recipients of standards and norms that they did not adequately participate in shaping," said Foreign Minister Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner of the Democratic Republic of the Congo1

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. Wagner emphasized the need to ensure that technological transformations of the 21st century do not reproduce the economic imbalances of previous decades.

Surge in Global Interest Signals Shift in AI Governance Priorities

The surge in interest around AI governance was striking. Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman of Bangladesh, who chaired the UN debate this year, noted that "four years ago, AI was raised in this hall by only five delegations - this year, 128 delegations addressed it"3

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. This dramatic increase underscores how rapidly AI has moved from a niche concern to a central geopolitical issue demanding coordinated global action.

The UN Security Council session dedicated to AI featured top executives from leading labs, including Sam Altman from OpenAI and Dario Amodei from Anthropic, who urged governments to work together to manage the technology2

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. Many delegations framed AI as a question of governance: Who designs it, who benefits, who bears the AI risks, and who is accountable when harm occurs, according to the Bangladeshi foreign minister1

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Economic Potential Versus Risk of Deepening Inequalities

The World Bank said in a report last month that AI could enable developing countries to gain a century's worth of development in a decade if they act quickly on power, connectivity and skills gaps2

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. The International Monetary Fund said in July that AI could boost Sub-Saharan Africa's economy by about 4% over the next decade under the right circumstances3

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Belize Prime Minister John Briceño captured the dual nature of the challenge, stating that AI, if well governed, could widen access to knowledge and improve public services. But he warned: "Poorly governed, it can deepen inequality, expose critical systems, displace workers and leave developing countries dependent on technologies and rules designed elsewhere"1

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UN Secretary-General Draws Parallels to Climate Change Crisis

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres compared debates around AI risks and climate change, arguing that developing nations should have an equal voice in both2

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. "The climate crisis went from distant warning to daily reality and artificial intelligence moved at a speed that has blindsided even those who created it," he said1

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Guterres framed both crises as interconnected chapters of the same story about power: "Who has it. Who is denied it. How it is used. And how it is changing"3

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. As with climate change, Guterres and Global South leaders urged coordinated global action rather than isolated national responses to AI threats.

Contrasting Views on AI Risks and Regulation

The focus on regulation stood in sharp contrast with remarks by US President Donald Trump, who dismissed AI risks as a "hoax" and "sick conspiracy" and told the United Nations that—like climate change—they were vastly overblown2

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. Trump said: "The very same people who said we'll all be dead in 12 years because of global warming are the same people that are now saying that AI is going to kill us all"1

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This divide highlights the societal implications and geopolitical implications of how nations approach AI governance. Watch for whether developing nations can translate their unified voice at the United Nations into concrete participation in setting global AI standards, or whether the technology's trajectory will remain determined primarily by wealthy nations and tech companies like OpenAI and Anthropic. The coming years will reveal whether equitable governance becomes reality or rhetoric.