Artificial intelligence (AI) is already transforming our world, but its power has posed global concerns. With regard to its international impact, the World Economic Forum in its Global Risks Report 2021 sounded the alarm on growing digital divides and technology adoption as one of the five core risks (the others are — a fractured future, youth in an age of lost opportunity, middle power morass, and imperfect markets) to building a just and sustainable world.

A business-as-usual trajectory will fundamentally result in an uncertain future, in which AI would be capable of replacing millions of jobs, conducting autonomous cyberattacks, and exceeding human abilities across many domains.

The alternative path, which deploys global guardrails to align AI governance efforts around the world, reinforces interoperability and coordination in compliance with countries’ frameworks and international policy standards, prevents misuse, and models on best practices.

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The benefits seen with this alternative pathway could result in the future of AI for the greater good — transparency, diversity, openness, inclusivity, democratic accessibility — and equally importantly, the protection and promotion of human rights, in particular, the leave-no-one-behind principle.

It is time to agree and implement deeper, more structural changes to build the foundation to achieve open, fair, inclusive, transparent, and efficient global AI governance. There are several good practices, including China’s Global AI Governance Initiative (2023), the UN’s Global Digital Compact on AI governance (2024), the African Union’s Continental AI Strategy (2024), and Paris AI Action Summit’s Statement on Inclusive and Sustainable AI for People and the Planet (2025), and so on. In addition, more and more platforms for global dialogue on AI governance have been established, such as the Global Forum on the Ethics of AI, hosted by UNESCO, the AI for Good Global Summit hosted by the World Federation of Engineering Organizations (WFEO), and the World AI Conference hosted by China, and so forth.

Overall, these official statements, initiatives, or strategies all seek to establish effective and workable frameworks for global AI governance. They hold the potential to reverse the trend of unimplemented commitments to extending the benefits of AI to everyone, and everywhere. From a global outlook, they help more countries join international cooperation and coordination on the development and deployment of AI. Their scope covers the sectors essential to effective global AI governance, such as the missions, visions, mandates, norms, and key features of the frameworks. These policies bring together a diverse range of stakeholders, including governments, the private sector, civil society, and the academic community, to ensure an equity-driven approach. In so doing, they begin to address the gaps in governance, institutional changes, and equity, with the aim of creating long-term global solutions through cooperation and coordination across the world. Under the principles, a global AI ecosystem could be fostered that embraces inclusivity, transparency, and shared growth.

There are limitations of a magnitude that act as barriers to the establishment and implementation of global AI governance, such as the lack of more detailed plans, specific initiatives, adequate incentives to motivate stakeholders in behavior change, and particularly, cooperative measures or agreements among governments and stakeholders, and so on. Despite these weaknesses, building global AI governance under the principles of extensive consultation, joint contributions, and shared benefits is an important step in the right direction, at the right time.

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At present, AI technology continues to move rapidly in scale and extent while global governance moves more slowly. When technology outpaces institutions, uncertainty will be unavoidable. It identifies the urgent necessity of building a framework for global AI governance as the right response to the unpredictable risks and complicated challenges brought about by the development of AI. The framework must uphold the principles of transparency, inclusivity, mutual growth, and a shared future. With the world more attuned to AI, there is an opportunity to leverage attention and find more effective ways to build global AI governance. Only together can we human beings leverage cooperation and coordination, and realize a better world.

The writer is professor of International Development and International Communication, Beijing Foreign Studies University, and author of The Chinese Story in Global Order.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.