Under India’s 2026 BRICS Presidency, the Indian National Science Academy (INSA) convened the inaugural virtual BRICS Science Academies Forum 2026. The forum focused on “Harnessing Artificial Intelligence for Sustainable Development and Strengthening Global South Cooperation,” aiming to bridge the global digital divide and establish a collaborative roadmap for responsible AI deployment.
Key Focus Areas and Consensus
- Democratic AI Access: Establishing South-South cooperation networks to democratize AI infrastructure and prevent the concentration of technological power in Western economies.
- Scientific Advancement: Using AI to catalyze breakthroughs in materials science, drug development, climate modeling, and agricultural optimization.
- Technological Sovereignty: Promoting open-source frameworks and localized data control to ensure member states retain governance over domestic data assets.
- Shared Infrastructure: Consensus on building energy-efficient data centers and pooling resources for shared computing and open data ecosystems.
- Localized Models: Prioritizing task-oriented industrial AI models and multilingual resources to overcome language barriers and improve precision in high-consequence domains.
The final declaration on AI for Sustainable Development is scheduled for adoption during the second session on July 22-23, 2026, at IIT Hyderabad.
IASPOINT Booster Facts
- BRICS Expansion: The bloc now includes ten nations, incorporating new members/partners like Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Belarus, Nigeria, Vietnam, and Indonesia.
- India’s Presidency Theme: “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability.”
- INSA: Established in 1935 as the National Institute of Sciences of India (NISI); serves as the apex body for Indian scientists.
- DPI Framework: India is championing its “India Stack” model as a scalable open-source framework for global governance.
- AI Sustainability: The forum addresses the environmental impact of AI, as training large models can emit over 300,000 kg of CO2 equivalent, aligning with UN SDG 13.