"BRICS Summit Proposes AI Cooperation to Counter Technology Concentration"
AI misalignment
when an AI system pursues a goal through unintended or harmful means, including autonomous hacking.
Open-source AI
AI whose model weights and architecture are publicly available, allowing any actor to deploy or adapt it.
Global AI governance has evolved through a series of intergovernmental summits since the early 2020s. The Bletchley Park AI Safety Summit (2023) first brought together major AI-developing nations to discuss frontier AI risks. The Seoul AI Summit (2024) built on that foundation. The AI Action Summit held at Grand Palais, Paris (February 2025) was co-chaired by India and marked a significant step: the United States and United Kingdom did not sign the declaration on inclusive and sustainable AI, signalling a divergence between frontier AI powers and the broader international community on governance norms. India then hosted the AI Impact Summit, 2026 in New Delhi, structured around three foundational Sutras, People, Planning, and Progress, and seven Chakras (pillars) including Access for Social Empowerment, AI for Science, and Secure and Trusted AI. This summit architecture reflects a pattern similar to the evolution of strategic partnerships in the Indo-Pacific: just as the Quad transformed from a loose security dialogue into a broader cooperation forum, and just as AUKUS raised questions about whether new trilateral arrangements would supersede existing regional groupings, the question now is whether BRICS AI cooperation will rival or complement the US-led AI governance architecture.
The geopolitical backdrop is a sharpening US-China technology competition. Both governments frame AI investment, in data centres, semiconductor supply chains, and frontier model development, as a matter of national security. This framing has consequences for the Global South: when AI firms withdraw powerful models from certain markets, or when export controls restrict access to advanced chips, developing economies bear the cost of great-power rivalry without having shaped the rules. The Information Technology Act, 2000 and the National Cyber Security Policy, 2013 provide India's domestic framework, but they were designed for conventional cyber threats, not for AI-augmented intelligence operations or AI supply-chain disruptions.
The article identifies two competing visions for AI governance. The first is the US-led model, where frontier proprietary AI development is treated as a strategic asset in a bilateral competition. AI firms themselves have called for a global slowdown in frontier model development, citing hacking risks and AI misalignment, the risk that an AI system pursues a goal in ways its designers did not intend, including autonomously hacking into external systems to complete a task. The US government has so far disregarded this call, prioritising competitive advantage over precautionary governance.
The second vision, articulated at the BRICS Summit, centres on open-source AI and multilateral cooperation. An open-source AI model's weights and architecture are publicly available, allowing any country to deploy, fine-tune, and adapt it without depending on a proprietary vendor. Open-source models currently lag behind frontier proprietary ones in raw capability, but they are improving rapidly. For deployment-heavy economies, countries that use AI primarily in public services, agriculture, healthcare, and governance rather than in cutting-edge research, this gap matters less than the gap in access and affordability. …
Consider the following statements regarding the AI Action Summit held in Grand Palais, Paris in February 2025:
I.Co-chaired with India, the event builds on the advances made at the Bletchley Park Summit held in 2023 and the Seoul Summit held in 2024.
II.Along with other countries, US and UK also signed the declaration on inclusive and sustainable AI.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Consider the following statements with respect to the AI Impact Summit, 2026 held in New Delhi:
1.The Summit's intellectual framework was based on three foundational Sutras: People, Planning, and Progress.
2.The Preamble of the Summit stresses Democratising AI Resources, which acknowledges the Charter for Democratic Diffusion of AI as a binding framework to support locally relevant innovation and strengthen resilient AI ecosystems while respecting national laws.
3.The New Delhi Declaration on AI Impact was structured around seven Chakras (Pillars), which included Access for Social Empowerment, AI for Science, and Secure and Trusted AI.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
The newly tri-nation partnership AUKUS is aimed at countering China's ambitions in the Indo-Pacific region. Is it going to supersede the existing partnerships in the region? Discuss the strength and impact of AUKUS in the present scenario.
'Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad)' is transforming itself into a trade bloc from a military alliance, in present times — Discuss.
Consider the following statements regarding the AI Action Summit held in Paris in February 2025:
1.The Summit was co-chaired by India.
2.It built on the advances made at the Bletchley Park Summit (2023) and the Seoul Summit (2024).
3.The United States and United Kingdom signed the declaration on inclusive and sustainable AI.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
With reference to the AI Impact Summit 2026 held in New Delhi, consider the following statements:
1.Its intellectual framework was based on three foundational Sutras: People, Planning, and Progress.
2.The New Delhi Declaration was structured around seven Chakras, which included Access for Social Empowerment, AI for Science, and Secure and Trusted AI.
3.The Summit's Preamble acknowledged the Charter for Democratic Diffusion of AI as a binding framework.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Match the following AI governance summits with their correct host locations:
List I (Summit) — List II (Location)
A.Bletchley Park AI Safety Summit (2023) — 1. New Delhi
B.Seoul AI Summit (2024) — 2. Seoul
C.AI Action Summit (2025) — 3. Bletchley, United Kingdom
D.AI Impact Summit (2026) — 4. Paris
With reference to India's cyber security institutional framework, consider the following pairs:
1.CERT-In — Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology
2.National Cyber Security Coordinator — Prime Minister's Office
3.National Cyber Security Policy — enacted in 2013
Which of the pairs given above is/are correctly matched?
Consider the following statements regarding open-source AI models:
1.Their model weights and architecture are publicly available, allowing any country to deploy or adapt them without vendor dependence.
2.They currently match frontier proprietary AI models in capability across all domains.
3.They are particularly relevant for deployment-heavy economies that use AI primarily in public services and governance.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Want the full note, Prelims Facts & MCQ answers?
Create a free account — takes less than a minute.
Create free account