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By Qaiser Nawab | AzerNEWS | Guest columnist

China's proposal at the 2026 BRICS Summit in New Delhi to establish a BRICS AI Open-Source Zone offers one possible direction. The initiative, presented by President Xi Jinping, includes cooperation in large language model development and applications, AI training and the creation of an open ecosystem. China also proposed cooperation on a digital industry cloud platform, smart factories and an engineer training alliance, alongside efforts to build greater international consensus on AI governance.

The significance of open-source artificial intelligence lies in the possibility of reducing dependence on a limited number of proprietary platforms. Commercial AI services can be useful, but their pricing, technical restrictions, data policies and availability may limit how institutions in developing countries use them.

Open-weight models, when their parameters are made available under appropriate licences, can provide researchers and organisations with greater opportunities to adapt technology to local needs. They may support applications in languages that receive less attention from major commercial developers, improve local research capacity and enable institutions to experiment without relying exclusively on external service providers.

The expansion of Chinese models, including Qwen, DeepSeek, Kimi and GLM, has contributed to a more competitive international AI landscape. These systems differ in their technical capabilities, licensing arrangements and commercial models, and they should be assessed individually rather than treated as a single category. Nevertheless, the broader development of open-weight AI has created new possibilities for institutions outside the traditional centres of technological power.

For the Global South, the value of these technologies will not be measured only by benchmark results. It will also depend on whether universities can use them for research, whether businesses can deploy them at manageable costs and whether public institutions can develop reliable applications for education, healthcare, agriculture and public services.

Consider a university in Pakistan, Kenya or Brazil seeking to build an AI tool for local-language education. Access to an adaptable model could reduce some initial development barriers. But the university would still need computing resources, quality training data, technical expertise and safeguards against inaccurate or discriminatory outputs. Open-source availability is therefore a starting point, not a complete development strategy.

BRICS countries possess different levels of industrial capacity, research expertise, digital infrastructure and regulatory experience.

The proposed AI training programmes and engineer alliance are potentially important in this regard. Technical education can help ensure that access to models translates into domestic capacity. Without a skilled workforce, developing countries may remain dependent on foreign companies for deployment, maintenance and system integration.

The Global South Needs a Voice in AI Governance

The BRICS AI proposal arrives amid wider disagreements over how artificial intelligence should be governed. Governments are concerned about economic competitiveness, cybersecurity, privacy, employment and the possibility of autonomous systems causing harm. Technology companies, meanwhile, are navigating rapidly changing regulations and significant commercial pressures.

Developing countries face additional concerns. Many have limited capacity to monitor sophisticated AI systems, investigate digital harms or develop their own regulatory institutions. They may also face the risk of being excluded from decisions about international standards that will affect their economies.

A broader AI governance framework should therefore involve countries beyond the most technologically advanced economies. The principle of inclusion is important, but representation must be accompanied by substantive participation in technical discussions and policy formation.

China's proposal can contribute to this conversation without requiring other countries to adopt a single technological or regulatory model. BRICS members should be able to evaluate different approaches and cooperate where interests overlap.

The initiative could also support applications linked to sustainable development. AI has potential uses in agricultural forecasting, energy management, disaster preparedness and public health. Yet these benefits depend on reliable data, institutional capacity and responsible implementation. Technology alone cannot resolve structural development problems.

For Pakistan, participation in international AI cooperation should be approached with a clear domestic agenda. Investment in universities, computing infrastructure, technical training and local-language datasets would help ensure that the country can contribute to, rather than merely consume, global technological progress.
The future of open-source AI will ultimately depend on trust. Developers need to address security risks, governments need to support fair access, and users need sufficient information to make informed decisions.

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The author is the Chairman of the Belt and Road Initiative for Sustainable Development (BRISD) and is a financial systems analyst focused on reserve currencies, central banking arrangements, and the structural dynamics of international monetary order.

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The views and opinions expressed by guest columnists in their articles may differ from those of the editorial board and do not necessarily reflect its views.