| GLOBAL SOUTH ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE LAW AND GOVERNANCE DIALOGUE — II(2026) Advancing Accountability, Governance and Legal Frameworks for Artificial Intelligence in the Global South 28 May 2026 | High-Level Multi-Stakeholder Dialogue |
| “Shaping an accountability-centric AI governance architecture for the Global South through law, policy, and enforceable frameworks.” |
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
| 📚 AI Accountability Framework 2026 Pioneering legal architecture moving beyond soft-law ethics to binding duties, novel doctrines, and real-world remedies. | 🌍 High-Level Global Dialogue Governments, regulators, judges, industry, academia, and civil society from Asia, Africa, Latin America, and beyond. | 🛡 Digital Sovereignty & Collective Rights Focus on safeguards against algorithmic colonialism, digital dependency, and collective algorithmic harms. |
EVENT AT A GLANCE
| 📅 Date 28 May 2026 | 🏙 Format High-Level Multi-Stakeholder Dialogue | 📍 Venue Cyberspace |
The Global South Artificial Intelligence Law and Governance Dialogue returns for its second edition on 28 May 2026, bringing together leaders from government, judiciary, industry, academia, and civil society to shape the future of AI law and governance in developing countries. Under the leadership of Dr. Pavan Duggal — Architect, Global AI Accountability and globally recognised authority on cyberlaw and AI law — this high-level convening focuses on concrete, enforceable legal responses to AI’s growing impact.
As AI rapidly permeates healthcare, education, finance, employment, public administration, and national security, countries of the Global South face a dual challenge: harnessing AI’s transformative potential while preventing digital dependency and algorithmic colonialism. The Dialogue provides a dedicated platform for Asia, Africa, Latin America, and other developing regions to set their own priorities and co-create an accountability-centric governance agenda.
At the core of the 2026 edition is the unveiling of the AI Accountability Framework 2026, conceptualised and authored by Dr. Pavan Duggal. The Framework moves beyond soft-law ethics to a practical legal architecture built on four pillars: prevention through accountability-by-design, transparency and explainability, remediation and redress, and robust governance with continuous human oversight.
Join policymakers, regulators, judges, technologists, and civil society experts from across the Global South to debate new legal doctrines for the intelligence age and help build an AI governance architecture that is fair, inclusive, and rooted in the realities of developing nations.
Be part of the conversation that ensures AI remains accountable to people and subject to the rule of law.
About the Dialogue
About the Dialogue
The Global South Artificial Intelligence Law and Governance Dialogue returns for its second edition on 28 May 2026, convening leading voices from law, policy, governance, academia, industry, and civil society to address the most pressing questions on regulating and governing artificial intelligence in the developing world.
Organized under the sterling leadership of Dr. Pavan Duggal — one of the world’s foremost authorities on artificial intelligence law, cyberlaw and emerging technology governance — the Dialogue seeks to catalyse actionable, enforceable legal frameworks for AI that work for the realities of the Global South.
Building on the insights and outcomes of the first edition held in 2025, the 2026 Dialogue deepens global conversations on responsible, accountable, and human-centric AI governance, and positions voices from the Global South at the centre of these debates.
“Without appropriate safeguards, developing countries risk becoming passive consumers of AI technologies designed elsewhere — a form of algorithmic colonialism that must be actively resisted.” — Dr. Pavan Duggal, Architect, Global AI Accountability and President, Global Artificial Intelligence Accountability Law and Governance Institute
Why the Global South Needs Its Own AI Governance Conversation
Artificial intelligence now permeates core sectors such as healthcare, education, employment, finance, public administration, national security, and digital communication. While AI promises innovation and economic growth, it also raises serious legal and ethical concerns around accountability, transparency, bias, discrimination, privacy, surveillance, and human oversight.
For countries in the Global South, these challenges are intensified by structural inequalities in digital infrastructure, regulatory capacity, and technological development. Without robust governance mechanisms, developing nations risk:
- Becoming passive consumers of AI technologies designed and controlled elsewhere
- Increasing digital dependency that constrains national policy autonomy
- Exposure to algorithmic systems that embed foreign values, biases, and interests
- Systemic harms from ungoverned AI with limited avenues for redress
The Dialogue therefore provides a dedicated platform for governments, regulators, judiciaries, industry, technologists, academics, and civil society from Asia, Africa, Latin America, and other developing regions to articulate their priorities, share experiences, and co-create futures for AI governance on their own terms.
The AI Accountability Framework 2026
At the heart of the 2026 edition is the introduction and in-depth discussion of the AI Accountability Framework 2026, conceptualised and authored by Dr. Pavan Duggal.
The Framework marks a decisive shift from purely ethical, voluntary, or soft-law approaches towards a practical, enforceable legal architecture for artificial intelligence. For nearly a decade, AI governance discourse has been dominated by non-binding principles and guidelines that, while useful, often lack teeth and provide limited remedies to individuals harmed by AI-driven decisions.
The AI Accountability Framework 2026 addresses this gap by transforming accountability from a moral aspiration into a binding legal duty. It unequivocally rejects the notion that “the algorithm did it” and insists that legal responsibility for AI-enabled decisions must remain traceable to identifiable natural or legal persons who design, develop, deploy, and operate AI systems.
The Framework is grounded in a rich blend of intellectual and ethical traditions:
- Constitutional principles of governance
- International human rights law
- Eastern ethical philosophies emphasising duty, harmony, and collective well-being
- Indigenous concepts of stewardship and intergenerational responsibility
By integrating these traditions, the Framework ensures that AI development remains aligned with human dignity, justice, and societal well-being.
The Four Foundational Pillars
| 1 | Prevention: Accountability by Design Developers and deployers must integrate legal compliance, safety safeguards, and ethical considerations from the earliest stages of system design. This includes risk assessments, fairness and bias evaluations, and robust safeguards against harmful or discriminatory outcomes — so that harms are prevented rather than merely remedied after the fact. |
| 2 | Transparency and Explainability Individuals affected by AI-enabled decisions must be able to understand how and why those decisions were made. The Framework mandates explainability mechanisms, documentation requirements, and disclosure obligations that allow regulators, courts, and oversight bodies to examine AI systems and assess their legal compliance. |
| 3 | Remediation and Redress Effective remedies are central to meaningful AI governance. The Framework emphasises concrete mechanisms for individuals to challenge algorithmic decisions, request explanations, appeal outcomes, and seek compensation where harms occur — ensuring accountability translates into real-world justice. |
| 4 | Governance and Human Oversight AI systems must never operate in a fully autonomous, unaccountable manner. Institutions deploying AI are required to maintain continuous human oversight, robust governance processes, regular audits, and regulatory compliance — so that ultimate responsibility remains with human actors, not machines. |
Novel Legal Doctrines for the Intelligence Age
To operationalise these principles, the AI Accountability Framework 2026 introduces cutting-edge legal doctrines designed for courts, regulators, and policymakers dealing with AI’s opacity, autonomy, and distributed responsibility:
◆ Non-Delegable Algorithmic Responsibility
Legal responsibility for AI-mediated decisions cannot be delegated to algorithms. Organisations remain fully responsible for the actions and outcomes of the systems they deploy.
◆ Perpetual Accountability of AI Systems
Accountability does not end at deployment. Developers and operators retain ongoing responsibilities for monitoring, auditing, updating, and remedying harms across the entire lifecycle of AI systems.
◆ Digital Sovereignty in AI Decision-Making
Nations — especially in the Global South — must retain meaningful control over critical AI systems that affect governance, public services, essential infrastructure, and national security.
◆ Collective Algorithmic Rights
AI systems frequently generate harms that affect communities and groups, not only individuals. This doctrine recognises and addresses collective harms and systemic biases embedded in algorithmic systems.
◆ AI Accountability Inheritance
Accountability obligations must survive mergers, acquisitions, restructurings, or transfers of AI technologies, so that responsibility cannot disappear through corporate reorganisation.
Significance for the Global South
The Second Global South AI Law and Governance Dialogue, 2026 represents an important milestone in ensuring that developing nations actively shape the global future of AI governance rather than merely adapting to frameworks designed elsewhere.
Historically, global digital governance has been driven by a small set of technologically advanced countries and large multinational technology companies. The Dialogue seeks to rebalance this landscape by bringing perspectives from Asia, Africa, Latin America, and other developing regions to the forefront of global AI governance debates.
The AI Accountability Framework 2026 is particularly relevant to the Global South because it directly addresses emerging patterns of digital and algorithmic colonialism, and promotes models that support:
| 🏳 National Technological Sovereignty Ensuring countries retain control over AI systems that affect governance, public services, and national security. | ⚖ Fair and Inclusive Digital Economies Preventing digital monopolies and ensuring AI’s economic benefits are equitably distributed. |
| 💡 Responsible and Context-Sensitive Innovation Supporting AI development that reflects local needs, values, and constitutional priorities rather than transplanting foreign models. | 🛡 Human Rights Protection in the Digital Age Embedding enforceable human rights obligations into AI development, deployment, and governance frameworks. |
By translating ethical commitments into concrete legal duties, enforceable obligations, and institutional governance mechanisms, the Framework offers a practical pathway for countries seeking to regulate AI responsibly in line with their constitutional values and development priorities.
Format and Key Programme Components
The 2026 Dialogue is designed as a high-level, multi-stakeholder convening featuring a rich mix of plenary, panel, and roundtable formats. The programme is expected to include:
🌐 High-Level Inaugural and Valedictory Sessions
Setting the tone and summarising outcomes at the highest levels of representation.
🎤 Keynote Addresses
Prominent keynotes on AI accountability, digital sovereignty, and the global AI governance landscape.
📝 Thematic Plenaries
In-depth plenary sessions on AI law, governance frameworks, and AI-generated harms.
🔍 Sector-Specific Panels
Focused discussions on AI in justice, health, finance, elections, public administration, and education.
📖 Special Session: AI Accountability Framework 2026
Dedicated presentation and structured debate on the Framework and its novel legal doctrines.
🗣 Multi-Stakeholder Roundtables
Interactive roundtables enabling participants to engage directly on regulatory priorities and design challenges.
🏗 Region-Specific Breakout Sessions
Targeted sessions for South Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America.
🏆 Outcome Segment
Synthesis of key recommendations, next steps, and a joint statement of priorities.
Who Should Participate
The Dialogue welcomes representation from all sectors engaged with AI development, governance, regulation, and impact:
| Government & Regulation Ministers, senior officials, and regulators from Global South countries working on AI, digital economy, and technology policy. | Judiciary & Legal Community Judges, advocates, legal practitioners, and enforcement agencies navigating AI-related disputes and regulatory frameworks. |
| Industry & Technology AI developers, technology companies, startups, and innovators operating in and for the Global South. | Academia & Research Researchers, policy experts, and think tanks working on AI ethics, law, governance, and the intersection of technology and rights. |
| Civil Society & Human Rights NGOs, human rights defenders, consumer protection advocates, and youth voices from across the Global South. | International Organisations Multilateral bodies, development finance institutions, and intergovernmental organisations working on digital governance. |
Outcomes and Expected Deliverables
The Dialogue is designed to generate concrete, actionable outcomes that extend well beyond the event itself:
- Present and discuss the AI Accountability Framework 2026 as a reference architecture for Global South jurisdictions
- Facilitate exchange of regulatory experiences, case studies, and best practices across regions
- Generate concrete recommendations for policymakers, regulators, judiciaries, and industry
- Build networks and coalitions for sustained collaboration on AI law and governance across the Global South
- Produce a joint outcome statement and set of shared priorities reflecting consensus across participating nations and stakeholders
- Contribute to the evolution of a fair, inclusive, and accountable global AI governance architecture that reflects Global South realities and aspirations
About the Organizer
| Dr. Pavan DuggalPresident, Cyberlaws.Net | Advocate, Supreme Court of India Dr. Pavan Duggal is globally recognised as one of the foremost authorities on cyberlaw, artificial intelligence law, and emerging technology governance. With decades of practice and scholarship, he has consistently championed the creation of strong, enforceable legal frameworks for digital technologies, with a particular focus on accountability, human rights, and the interests of the Global South. As the conceptualiser and author of the AI Accountability Framework 2026, Dr. Duggal brings together his expertise in constitutional law, international human rights law, and technology governance to offer a practical legal architecture for the intelligence age. The AI Accountability Framework 2026 and the Global South AI Law and Governance Dialogue series reflect his enduring commitment to ensuring that intelligent technologies remain accountable to human beings and subject to the rule of law. |
Call to Action
The Second Global South AI Law and Governance Dialogue calls on all stakeholders in the AI ecosystem to engage, contribute, and act:
🏛 Governments and Regulators
Engage with the AI Accountability Framework 2026 and explore pathways for adapting it to your national constitutional and regulatory context.
⚖ Judiciaries and Legal Community
Examine and debate the novel legal doctrines designed for the AI age and consider their application in your jurisdiction.
💻 Industry and Technologists
Embed accountability-by-design, transparency, and human oversight into your AI systems as a legal and ethical baseline, not an afterthought.
🎓 Academia and Civil Society
Contribute your research, critique, and on-the-ground perspectives to refine and strengthen the Framework and its practical application.
| JOIN US ON 28 MAY 2026 Help shape an AI governance architecture that truly serves the Global South. |
Global South AI Law and Governance Dialogue – II | 28 May 2026 | Organized by Global Artificial Intelligence Accountability Law and Governance Institute, AI Law Hub and Pavan Duggal Associates, Advocates under the leadership of Dr. Pavan Duggal