BRICS AI Regulation Overview

Overview

The BRICS AI Cooperation Framework, adopted at the 2024 BRICS Summit in Kazan, represents a landmark multilateral initiative designed to guide member states in leveraging Artificial Intelligence for inclusive economic growth, technological advancement, and sustainable development. Encompassing foundational members—Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa—alongside expanded BRICS+ countries, the framework establishes a shared vision for AI development that prioritizes the developmental context and needs of the Global South. It builds upon previous ministerial dialogues, such as the 10th BRICS Communications Ministers Meeting Declaration on AI Cooperation and the work of the BRICS Working Group on ICT Cooperation, to address shared technological and governance challenges.

Central to the framework's philosophy is the protection of digital sovereignty, ensuring that all member nations retain autonomy over their digital infrastructure, data policies, and domestic regulatory environments while benefiting from joint research and technological exchange. The framework broadly defines Artificial Intelligence as autonomous or semi-autonomous systems that display intelligent behavior by analyzing their environment to achieve specific goals. By focusing on technology transfer, capacity building, and ethical standards, the framework aims to bridge the digital divide, enhance public services, and promote high-performance computing and AI integration across key socio-economic sectors.

Regulatory Approach

The regulatory approach of the BRICS AI Cooperation Framework is non-prescriptive, cooperative, and soft-law focused, respecting each member nation's sovereign right to formulate its own domestic binding legislation. Rather than establishing a single rigid regulatory regime, the framework acts as an overarching policy architecture aimed at harmonizing national AI strategies through consensus-building, ethical principles, and joint mechanisms. It balances innovation support with risk management, advocating for human-centric, development-oriented AI deployment that avoids market fragmentation and reduces global inequalities.

The framework emphasizes core ethical principles, including fairness, algorithmic transparency, non-discrimination, and public accountability. Key components include the development of common benchmarks such as a Unified AI Ethics Charter and technical protocols for safe data access and privacy. By integrating multi-stakeholder participation across government agencies, research institutions, and the private sector, the framework encourages alignment around high-level governance objectives while enabling flexible implementation tailored to each participating nation's regulatory environment.

Key AI Legislation

The BRICS multilateral AI governance framework currently consists of key policy instruments and declarations adopted by member states:

• BRICS AI Cooperation Framework (2024): The primary foundational policy document ratified at the 2024 Kazan Summit, outlining strategic cooperation, capacity building, ethical deployment, and digital sovereignty principles across BRICS+ member states.
• 10th BRICS Communications Ministers Meeting Declaration on AI Cooperation (2024): A ministerial declaration establishing priority areas for telecommunication standards, high-performance computing, and joint AI research initiatives.
• BRICS Foreign Ministers Declaration on AI Governance (2025): A diplomatic agreement reiterating support for inclusive global AI governance and international coordination.
• BRICS Leaders' Declaration on Global Governance of AI (2025): A high-level summit declaration reinforcing the role of the United Nations in global AI oversight and affirming the rights of emerging economies in digital policy creation.

Governance & Enforcement Bodies

Institutional oversight under the BRICS AI Cooperation Framework relies on existing and expanded multilateral working groups, ministerial assemblies, and specialized research bodies. Policy direction is driven by the BRICS Communications Ministers Meetings and Leaders' Summits, which review progress, set operational priorities, and coordinate strategic goals. The BRICS Working Group on ICT Cooperation—formally renamed to encompass AI and high-performance computing—serves as the main operational arm responsible for translating high-level policy declarations into practical programs, technical standards, and cybersecurity frameworks.

Targeted research and innovation initiatives are facilitated through the BRICS AI Study Group and the BRICS+ Centre for AI Research and Innovation, which operate as network hubs across member states for collaborative scientific endeavors. Financial backing for infrastructure development, AI capacity building, and technological skills enhancement is provided by the New Development Bank (NDB). Together, these bodies ensure structured communication and institutional support across the bloc without replacing national regulatory authorities.

Penalties & Enforcement

The available records contain no provisions establishing formal statutory penalties, fine structures, civil liabilities, or administrative sanctions under the BRICS AI Cooperation Framework. As a multilateral policy and cooperation framework, it does not function as an enforceable penal statute or binding multilateral treaty with direct enforcement powers.

Compliance and adherence to the framework's principles depend on voluntary alignment, diplomatic consensus, and the integration of shared standards into each member state's domestic legal system. Enforcement mechanisms, legal sanctions, and rights of appeal remain exclusively under the jurisdiction of individual national legal frameworks within each respective BRICS country.

Data Protection Framework

The framework highlights data protection, privacy, and secure data access as fundamental pillars of ethical AI deployment. It advocates for robust privacy safeguards and algorithmic transparency to mitigate biases and protect individual rights, while respecting each member state's data localization policies and national security mandates.

Rather than promulgating a standalone unified privacy statute, the framework calls for technical standards and collaborative protocols that foster safe data exchange while respecting national sovereignty. The corpus contains no record of a separate BRICS-wide privacy statute or GDPR-equivalent regulation within this framework.

Sector-Specific Rules

The BRICS AI Cooperation Framework prioritizes sector-specific applications aimed at addressing core developmental challenges within member states. Priority sectors highlighted for targeted AI integration and collaborative research include healthcare, education, agriculture, language processing, and climate prediction model development.

In the telecommunications and technology sectors, the framework stresses the development of innovative telecommunications equipment, new communication standards, and high-performance computing infrastructure. Broad sectoral guidelines encourage safe, equitable access to AI tools to boost public service delivery and economic productivity across member economies.

International Alignment

The framework places strong emphasis on international alignment, explicitly advocating for a central coordinating role for the United Nations in global AI governance. It stresses the need for inclusive, representative global governance structures that prevent international regulatory fragmentation and ensure that the voices and interests of the Global South are fully represented in international forums.

While providing an alternative, development-oriented governance perspective to models predominantly shaped by advanced economies, the framework promotes engagement with specialized UN agencies and international standardization bodies. The corpus contains no specific reference to formal adoption of the EU AI Act or OECD AI Principles, focusing instead on UN-centered multilateral coordination.

Future Developments

Future work under the framework centers on deepening technical cooperation and establishing standardized guidelines for ethical AI across BRICS+ members. Planned initiatives include the finalization and implementation of a Unified AI Ethics Charter to harmonize fairness, transparency, and non-discrimination standards across member states.

Additionally, member states aim to expand the network of AI research hubs under the BRICS+ Centre for AI Research and Innovation, increase infrastructure funding via the New Development Bank, and continue active participation in UN-led global AI governance dialogues.

Enforcement Bodies

Agency	Mandate	Key Powers	Website
BRICS Working Group on ICT Cooperation	Fosters collaboration in information exchange, digital infrastructure, telecommunications equipment, and communication standards; includes high-performance computing and AI.	Develops practical initiatives, proposes cooperative mechanisms, counters cyber threats, and coordinates ICT/AI strategies among member states.
BRICS Communications Ministers Meetings	Provides high-level policy dialogue and decision-making on telecommunications, ICT, and AI cooperation.	Issues declarations, sets strategic priorities, and coordinates ministerial policies across member countries.
BRICS AI Study Group	Drives innovation, monitors AI technology advancements, and provides a platform for exchanging knowledge and resources.	Proposes cooperative mechanisms, conducts joint studies, and monitors global AI developments.
New Development Bank (NDB)	Finances infrastructure and sustainable development projects across member states.	Funds investments in AI infrastructure, digital skills development, and social inclusion projects.
BRICS+ Centre for AI Research and Innovation	Serves as a network of AI research hubs across member states for joint scientific and technical initiatives.	Executes joint research projects in natural language processing, smart agriculture, and climate prediction.