South Africa called for formal external checks, audits and government oversight of powerful AI systems while supporting greater investment in sovereign AI capabilities …reports Africa Daily News Desk
South Africa has called for stronger global cooperation on artificial intelligence, climate resilience, healthcare, finance and sustainable development as BRICS marked its 20th anniversary.
Addressing the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi, South Africa said the milestone should be used to reaffirm the grouping’s commitment to deeper cooperation and a more ambitious agenda covering science, technology and innovation, sustainable development and economic transformation.
South Africa said the world was undergoing rapid change, presenting both significant risks and opportunities, while stressing that inclusive growth would require addressing persistent challenges such as poverty and inequality alongside the effects of climate change and the rapid development of artificial intelligence.
It warned that increasingly frequent and severe climate-related disasters risk reversing development gains and worsening inequality, making resilience essential to inclusive growth and human development.
South Africa commended India for placing resilience among its priorities and said disaster risk reduction should be integrated into macroeconomic policies, climate financing and sustainable infrastructure.
It called for vulnerable countries to receive equitable access to technologies, finance and capacity-building support needed to withstand future shocks.
On the global energy transition, South Africa said the process must focus on reskilling workers, protecting livelihoods and creating new industries capable of generating quality jobs.
It also called for greater transparency in markets for critical minerals and transition technologies, while urging the diversification of responsible supply chains.
For Africa and other developing regions, South Africa stressed that minerals should be beneficiated at their source so that producing countries can capture greater economic value.
A major focus of the address was the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence and its growing impact on economic and social life.
South Africa said AI could usher in a new era of productivity and human progress and, if used responsibly, could help tackle inequality, poverty and underdevelopment.
The technology has the potential to transform sectors including medicine, education, scientific research, agriculture and broader economic productivity, it said.
However, South Africa cautioned against the potential risks associated with increasingly powerful AI systems, including advanced cyber operations, assistance in biological weapons development, autonomous actions, manipulation, mass surveillance, employment disruption and the possibility of systems becoming difficult for humans to control.
“We should therefore neither fear AI nor approach it recklessly,” South Africa said, stressing that human governance must advance as rapidly as AI itself.
The country backed calls from AI industry leaders, including Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, for formal external checks, audits and government oversight of AI companies.
South Africa said such oversight was already standard practice in industries with significant implications for human safety and wellbeing, including aviation, pharmaceuticals, nuclear power and financial institutions.
It warned that technological capabilities should never advance beyond humanity’s ability to understand, supervise and control them.
South Africa proposed that BRICS establish an international mechanism for the independent scientific evaluation of AI.
The proposed framework should include meaningful human-control principles, mandatory reporting of serious incidents and progressively stronger safeguards as AI capabilities increase, while also supporting investment in sovereign AI capabilities in developing economies.
The country also called for continued scientific cooperation through BRICS initiatives such as the Intelligent Telescope and Data Network and the BRICS Vaccine Research and Development Centre.
It stressed the need to strengthen medical sovereignty, vaccine development, genomic surveillance and diagnostic capabilities across the Global South.
South Africa further urged BRICS members to work together to transform agriculture through innovation and identified economic and financial cooperation as central to building greater resilience.
It supported a balanced and gradual expansion of the New Development Bank and welcomed continued discussions on the proposed New Investment Platform and BRICS Multilateral Guarantees initiative.
The country also called for greater use of local currencies, stronger cross-border payment systems and deeper financial interconnectivity among BRICS members.
As BRICS enters its third decade, South Africa said the grouping should adopt a more ambitious approach and use its engagement with partner countries to deepen cooperation in public health, education, science and technology, finance and trade.
Marking the 40th anniversary year of the UN Resolution on the Right to Development, South Africa also called on BRICS to renew its commitment to the realisation of the “inalienable human right to development”.
Concluding the address, South Africa invoked the words of Indian poet, activist and leader Sarojini Naidu, calling for “deeper sincerity of motive, a greater courage in speech and earnestness in action.”
