BRICS leaders call for data protections against unauthorized AI use

Leaders of the BRICS group of developing nations will call for protections against unauthorized use of artificial intelligence (AI) to avoid excessive data collection and allow mechanisms for fair payment. The diplomatic bloc is said to have dedicated a part of its discussions to AI during a two-day summit in Rio de Janeiro. Big tech firms largely based in wealthy nations have resisted calls to pay copyright fees for material used to train AI models.

Leaders of the BRICS group of developing nations also condemned attacks on Gaza and Iran, while calling for reforms of global institutions and presented the bloc as a haven for multilateral diplomacy amid violent conflicts and trade wars.

With forums such as the G7 and G20 groups of major economies restricted by divisions and the disruptive “America First” approach of U.S. President Donald Trump, expansion of the BRICS has opened new space for diplomatic coordination.

In his opening remarks at the summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva drew a parallel with the Cold War’s Non-Aligned Movement, a group of developing nations that resisted joining either side of a polarized global order.

“BRICS is the heir to the Non-Aligned Movement,” Lula told leaders. “With multilateralism under attack, our autonomy is in check once again.”

Lula noted in remarks on Saturday to business leaders that BRICS nations now represent more than half the world’s population and 40% of its economic output, thus warning of rising protectionism.