Ramaphosa calls for global AI oversight at BRICS Summit in New Delhi

President Cyril Ramaphosa has urged BRICS partners to treat artificial intelligence as both an opportunity and a risk, arguing that responsible use could help tackle inequality, poverty and underdevelopment. Speaking at the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi during a session on inclusive growth, he said human governance must keep pace with technological advances.

The President warned that leading developers themselves flag dangers ranging from advanced cyber operations and biological-weapons assistance to mass surveillance, job disruption and systems that may become hard to control. South Africa backs calls — including from industry figures such as Anthropic's Dario Amodei — for external audits and government oversight comparable to aviation, pharmaceuticals or nuclear power.

Pretoria has therefore proposed that BRICS establish an international mechanism for independent scientific evaluation of AI, backed by human-control principles, mandatory serious-incident reporting, stronger safeguards as capability grows, and investment in sovereign AI capacity for developing economies. Ramaphosa linked the agenda to broader BRICS cooperation on health, agriculture, finance and disaster resilience.

Source: https://www.sanews.gov.za/south-africa/sa-calls-global-oversight-artificial-intelligence