Launch of the Network at the IndiaAI Impact Summit 2026

In February 2026, leading figures from government, industry, philanthropy, and civil society convened in New Delhi to launch the Global South Network for Trustworthy AI at the IndiaAI Impact Summit. The Network is a civil society-led platform working to advance AI safety and evaluation in real-world contexts across the Global South — generating independent evidence, building locally grounded methods, and bringing Global South voices into international AI governance.

Keynote remarks

The launch opened with keynotes from Mr Abhishek Singh, Director General of the National Informatics Centre and Additional Secretary at the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India; Ambassador Philip Thigo, Special Envoy on Technology, Republic of Kenya; and Mr Quintin Chou-Lambert, Chief of Staff and AI Lead at the Office of Emerging and Digital Technologies, United Nations.

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Mr Singh framed the Network as a vehicle for operationalising the New Delhi Frontier AI Commitments and strengthening responsible AI deployment across the Global South:

"I see the launch of the Global South Network for Trustworthy AI as the first step in operationalising the New Delhi Frontier AI Commitments. With support from industry, frontier AI labs, research institutions, governments, and multilateral bodies, this initiative can grow stronger. The IndiaAI Mission will provide its full support — and work to ensure the Network gains the same level of support from every participating country."

Ambassador Thigo addressed the structural imbalance that the Network exists to correct:

"A handful of institutions should not define what risks are measured, what harms are prioritised, and what safe performance means. Governance is about power — and we must deconcentrate that power, even if it's unintentional."

‍Mr Chou-Lambert situated the Network within the broader international conversation on AI safety:

"These kinds of networks will play a crucial role in bringing local cases and threats into international discussions, so that those discussions do not ignore, omit, or discount the perspectives of the vast majority of people on the planet."

Panel discussion

The keynotes were followed by a high-level panel featuring Dr Rachel Sibande (Senior Programme Officer, AI, Gates Foundation), Ms Chenai Chair (Director, Masakhane African Languages Hub), Mr Amir Banifatemi (Chief Responsible AI Officer, Cognizant), Ms Natasha Crampton (Chief Responsible AI Officer, Microsoft), and Dr B. Ravindran (Head of CeRAI, IIT Madras).

The discussion focused on deployment realities across the Global South, multilingual and community-led evaluation, feedback loops enabled by accessible and context-grounded tools, broader definitions of harm that encompass social impact, and strengthening evidence for policy — priorities that position the Network as a bridge between global commitments and real-world implementation.

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The Network's first year

Over the coming year, the Network will undertake a set of flagship initiatives focused on:

• Evaluating multilingual AI systems and how they perform across diverse linguistic contexts
• Advancing a structured taxonomy of gendered AI harms
• Producing practical procurement guidance for Global South governments adopting frontier AI‍
• Publishing a Global South AI Safety Report on regional risks and opportunities
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Closing reflections

Speaking at the close of the evening, Dr Urvashi Aneja of Digital Futures Lab framed the launch as a turning point:

"The Global South must not only be a market for AI systems, but an active shaper of the standards, evaluations, and safeguards that govern them. The launch of the Global South Network for Trustworthy AI signals a shift from participation to leadership."

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