Building AI Sovereignty in the BRICS Countries

Building upon past and ongoing research on digital sovereignty and AI governance, this volume examines the multiple dimensions of AI sovereignty within the BRICS context. It situates this analysis within a context of intensified geopolitical competition shaped by AI-driven digital transformation and the growing strategic significance of digital technologies.

Across the newly expanded group of BRICS+ countries, approaches to digital sovereignty and AI governance differ substantially in both their underlying rationales and institutional configurations. This volume explores these diverse trajectories by conceptualising AI sovereignty as a state's capacity to understand, develop, and regulate AI systems while preserving self-determination, agency, and control over technological infrastructures and processes. The contributors demonstrate that rationales for AI sovereignty emerge from varied historical, political, and strategic contexts. These range from concerns over technological dependence - often shaped by experiences of colonialism and structural asymmetries - to strategic recognition that domestic innovation capabilities and infrastructure are critical for national development and the pursuit of technological autonomy. As part of this analysis, the authors identify eight Key AI Sovereignty Enablers that provide a framework for assessing national capabilities. Drawing on this framework, the volume evaluates the extent to which selected BRICS countries may be considered “AI sovereign.”

This book will be of interest to researchers and scholars working in AI governance, data regulation, and digital industrial policy, as well as to those in public law and international relations seeking to understand the implications of digital technologies and AI for state functions and global governance. It will also be relevant to researchers and practitioners in the field of international law and development.