"AI development is concentrated in a handful of wealthy nations. How can we ensure the gains of AI are shared globally?"
—
Mr. David Olah, Co-Founder, Anthropic
Artificial intelligence is no longer a distant frontier — it is already embedded in the critical institutions of human society, including courtrooms, legal aid systems, and the machinery of justice worldwide. In the Global South, which has largely been invisible in the public discourse, AI is redefining what work exists and who gets to do it, reshaping how health systems diagnose and treat their citizens, and unsettling long-held assumptions about autonomy, dignity, and what it means to be human in a world of thinking machines. It is also a matter of national security — touching critical infrastructure, sensitive data, and the defense priorities nations depend on to protect themselves.
On October 1–2, 2026, Harvard Law School’s Center for the Study of African Societies & Economies (CSASE) will convene an invitation-only Forum in Geneva, bringing together senior policymakers, Ministers of Justice, Attorneys General, scholars, and thought leaders from African, Caribbean, and small island states, alongside the technologists building AI tools. Together they will confront a defining question: how can nations and economies on the cusp of transformation harness AI's promise — without inheriting its risks of bias, opacity, eroded due process, and exposure to threats they did not choose?
This is a pivotal moment that will shape government, justice systems, economies, and societies for decades to come. Join us at the Forum where that future gets debated for societies whose vulnerability makes the ethical and moral considerations a compelling call to action.
1. Are Africa, the Caribbean, and the Global South adopting AI on someone else's terms, or writing the rules for their own?
2. What can emerging economies learn from the AI failures and missteps already surfacing in the U.S. and EU?
3. Can the same technology that threatens national security and labor markets be redirected to strengthen them instead?
9:00-9:15am
Welcome
9:15-10:15am
Opening Address
10:15-10:30am
Coffee & Tea
10:30am-12:00pm
Session I: Artificial Intelligence and the Global Innovation Frontier - Considerations for Human Welfare
12:00-1:15pm
Lunch
1:15-2:45pm
Session II: Multinodal Governance of Artificial Intelligence - Regional, Multilateral, and Global Scenarios
2:45-3:00pm
Coffee & Tea
3:00pm-4:30pm
Session III: Artificial Intelligence and Human Development - Risks, Opportunities, and Pathways
4:30pm
Adjournment
6:00pm
Dinner
9:00-10:30am
Session IV: Designing Artificial Intelligence for Government Functions - Administrative and Operational Pathways
10:30-10:45am
Coffee & Tea
10:45am-12:15pm
Session V: Bargaining with Artificial Intelligence - Considerations for the Geopolitical Future
12:15-1:30pm
Lunch
1:30-3:00pm
Session VI: ...
3:00-3:15pm
Coffee & Tea
3:15pm-4:30pm
From Vision to Action: Recommendations on the Way Forward
4:30pm
Adjournment
