By
Tuhu Nugraha
Africa-Press – Eritrea. As nations race to shape AI governance frameworks, one threat remains dangerously underdiscussed: the rise of non-state actors weaponizing AI. From cyber-hacktivists to autonomous terrorist networks, the next global disruption may not come from superpowers—but from the shadows they failed to anticipate.
The Global South is particularly vulnerable. While the discourse around AI has rightly emphasized digital sovereignty, data colonialism, and algorithmic bias, there’s a blind spot in anticipating asymmetrical threats—especially in regions where digital infrastructure is still fragile and institutional coordination is weak. The proliferation of generative AI tools makes it possible for loosely coordinated groups to generate deepfakes, hijack public sentiment, or even launch coordinated cyber-assaults against critical infrastructure—all with minimal cost and maximal disruption.
And this is not theoretical. According to a joint report by UNICRI and the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Centre (UNCCT), terrorist organizations are already exploring AI to improve drone precision, automate propaganda, and enable large-scale misinformation campaigns. The report warns that “AI-enhanced attacks could dramatically increase the impact and reach of non-state actors,” especially when combined with swarming drones or deepfake identity theft (UNICRI & UNCCT, 2021, “Malicious Use of AI by Terrorist Groups”).
The world cannot afford to treat this as a future risk. It is an active front.
What’s missing in global governance isn’t just inclusion—it’s collective cyber resilience. We urgently need a multilateral “Digital Non-Proliferation Treaty” for AI, one that explicitly prohibits the use or development of AI-based weapons and systems by non-state actors. Just as the world came together to regulate nuclear threats, we must now co-design early warning protocols, shared detection systems, and ethical firewalls to prevent AI from becoming the next weapon of mass destabilization.
Here, the Global South can lead—not through technological dominance, but through ethical imagination and coalition-building. Countries like Indonesia, India, Brazil, and South Africa have the geopolitical neutrality and moral capital to spearhead an initiative we call the AI Peace and Crisis Security Pact (AIPaCS): a cross-regional mechanism to monitor, simulate, and respond to non-state AI threats. Think tanks, civil society, and youth innovators in these countries are already experimenting with AI for peace. For example, Indonesia’s AI4IMPACT initiative leverages machine learning for crisis mapping and disaster response; India’s NITI Aayog supports Responsible AI for Youth programs to embed ethics and safety into school-level innovation; while Brazil’s ITS Rio has launched community-level AI observatories to monitor misinformation trends. These grassroots and institutional efforts must be woven into global risk frameworks to ensure governance is informed by inclusive, bottom-up resilience models.
Meanwhile, Global North allies must abandon the illusion that AI safety can be enforced solely through corporate-led self-regulation or military deterrence. The real risk lies in the gaps between jurisdictions, the legal grey zones exploited by actors with no flag, no borders, and no accountability.
The future of AI governance depends not on who builds the most powerful models, but on who anticipates the quiet, chaotic, and borderless threats. This is where Global South leadership is not only relevant—but essential. These regions understand first-hand the vulnerabilities caused by institutional fragmentation, lack of cyber infrastructure, and geopolitical asymmetry. That proximity to systemic fragility fosters a kind of governance wisdom that is both pragmatic and urgent.
Moreover, the Global South has fewer legacy interests to protect, making it more agile in imagining ethical frameworks that prioritize safety, inclusivity, and justice. It can serve as a necessary counterbalance—a voice of restraint amid the escalating AI race that often prizes speed over safety. In many ways, Global South leadership is not about catching up technologically—it is about redefining the terms of global responsibility in a multipolar digital era, and reminding the world to apply the brakes before the race becomes reckless and irreversibly harmful.
To catalyze this vision, Global South leadership doesn’t need to wait for a perfect platform. In fact, this initiative could begin within existing or emerging coalitions. A dedicated working group on AI threats under the South-South Cooperation framework, a track within the G20 Digital Economy Task Force, or a regional testbed under ASEAN Digital Ministers’ Meeting (ADGMIN) could serve as pragmatic starting points. These smaller, more agile forums can pioneer protocols, foster trust, and prototype collective responses before scaling globally. The goal is not to wait for global consensus, but to lead by example, grounded in regional wisdom and urgency.
Because in a world shaped by algorithms, peace will be defined not by the absence of war, but by the integrity of our shared digital architectures.
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