Global South Leaders Chart AI’s Path to Societal Impact

A high-level panel at the India AI Impact Summit 2026 brought together leaders from Togo, Indonesia, and Egypt to discuss transitioning artificial intelligence from infrastructure to tangible societal benefits, addressing adoption gaps, public applications, regulatory balance, and success metrics over the next five years.
Indonesia’s Vice Minister of Communications and Digital Affairs, Mr. Nezar Patria, rated
global AI impact at “six out of ten,” stressing meaningful access beyond connectivity. With
With 80% internet penetration across its archipelago, Indonesia deploys AI diagnostic tools to aidremote doctors in tuberculosis detection. He advocated balanced regulation, R&D
investment, digital talent, and trustworthy systems for accessible, problem-solving AI.
Togo’s Minister of Public Sector Efficiency and Digital Transformation, Ms. Cina Lawson,
positioned AI as a solver for Africa’s health, education, agriculture, and administration
challenges, despite a <1% global AI talent share and connectivity issues. During the
pandemic, Togo used AI on satellite imagery and telecom data for targeted financial aid; it
now hosts an in-house data science team for policymaking. She highlighted needs for
infrastructure, capacity, and local language models, envisioning seamless citizen services
via conversational AI.
Egypt’s Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Mr. Raafat Hindy,
measured success by citizens benefiting from AI-enhanced healthcare, education, and
services, extending beyond cities. Egypt prioritizes public services, shared compute, and
national AI institutions, urging AI as a development tool with a focus on infrastructure, capacity, and local models.
Moderator Debjani Ghosh noted converging governmental visions: AI success means
transformed lives via trustworthy, inclusive tech, capacity building, and collaboration. The
panel emphasized lives changed over infrastructure size, advocating inclusive design, trust,
innovation, and global partnerships for equitable AI.