By Dr Iqbal Survé and Sesona Mdlokovana
BRICS as an Emerging AI Power Bloc
In terms of AI capability, China continues to be the leading nation within BRICS. Stanford's 2024 AI Index indicates that China is responsible for 47.2% of the world's most frequently cited AI papers and holds the global lead in AI patent applications. The government's "New Generation Artificial Intelligence Development Plan" has secured over $150 billion in funding. Furthermore, Chinese companies such as Baidu and Huawei have developed AI chips and large language models that are competitive with those from Google and OpenAI.
India is actively embracing sovereign AI, driven by its technologically adept populace and expanding startup landscape. A key initiative in this direction is the "IndiaAI" mission, launched in 2023. This program, supported by $1.2 billion in funding, aims to foster the development of open-source Indian language models, create AI tools tailored for sectors such as agriculture, education, and health, and encourage indigenous chip design.President Putin, in 2023, highlighted AI as a "battlefield of the future," intertwining Russia's AI development with its national security. He announced the "National AI Strategy 2030," allocating over 100 billion rubles (around $1.2 billion) to defense technology, speech recognition, and automation.
Brazil and South Africa are becoming leading centers for ethical AI innovation, especially in agriculture and public health. Brazil's Embrapa has developed AI tools for precision agriculture using satellite data. Similarly, South Africa's CSIR is advancing AI through its Smart Mobility and eHealth initiatives. Ethiopia and Egypt are also making strides in digital sovereignty. They are investing in AI research centers and building smart government infrastructure, as seen with Egypt's "Digital Nation" platform, an e-governance suite powered by machine learning analytics.
Breaking Free from Western AI Hegemony
The BRICS AI strategy aims to counter the monopolisation of digital power by Western corporations and governments, extending beyond mere technological progress. A significant challenge lies in the current AI infrastructure, which is predominantly built on Western platforms such as Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure, dominating cloud computing. Additionally, foundational models like GPT-4 and Claude are trained on datasets that reflect Western epistemologies, often neglecting the languages, values, and contexts pertinent to the Global South.
In response to the global AI landscape, BRICS nations are actively developing their own Large Language Models (LLMs). China has introduced "WuDao" and "Ernie," while Russia has launched "GigaChat." India's "Bhashini" initiative is a significant stride towards AI linguistic sovereignty, focusing on a multilingual AI platform trained in Indic languages. Furthermore, in 2024, Brazil and China announced a collaborative AI research venture to create a Portuguese-Spanish LLM specifically designed for Latin American contexts.
AI Governance: A Parallel Regulatory Framework
BRICS AI strategy also encompasses governance. The 2024 BRICS Summit in Kazan saw the adoption of the “BRICS Charter on Responsible AI.” This document promotes AI development that is inclusive, transparent, and culturally sensitive, offering a stark contrast to the EU’s AI Act. Many in the Global South criticize the EU’s Act for its Eurocentric norms and for limiting AI experimentation in developing countries.
Financing and Infrastructure: Toward AI Autonomy
The New Development Bank (NDB), an institution owned by BRICS member states and based in Shanghai, is increasingly active in financing AI infrastructure. In 2025, the NDB introduced a $5 billion “Digital Sovereignty Fund.” This fund supports AI research parks, data centers, and semiconductor fabrication in member nations, with notable projects such as the UAE’s AI cloud cluster and Ethiopia’s AI Research and Education Zone in Addis Ababa.
Beyond financing, BRICS is also working towards a non-Western AI compute stack, prioritizing semiconductor independence. China’s SMIC and India’s CDAC are developing 7nm chip production to reduce dependence on NVIDIA and Intel. Iran's national quantum computing program could also contribute to future AI compute capabilities, while the UAE has made substantial investments in its national AI conglomerate, G42.
By challenging Western dominance over data, infrastructure, ethics, and narrative, BRICS is laying the foundation for a truly sovereign AI ecosystem. This ecosystem will reflect the diverse needs, values, and ambitions of a majority-world future. As we enter a new era driven by technological advancements, the expanded BRICS bloc is not merely trying to catch up; it is actively redefining the rules of engagement.
Dr Iqbal Survé - past chairman of the BRICS Business Council and co-chairman of the BRICS Media Forum and the BRNN.
Sesona Mdlokovana - Associate at BRICS+ Consulting Group, UAE & African Specialist.
Sunday Independent
