Meaningful Artificial Intelligence (MAI) is the flagship initiative of
Digital-Divide-Institute. On this page, find
By Craig Warren Smith, Chairman, Digital Divide Institute
1. Proposed Summary of MAI
2. Proposed Consumer Collaboration Framework
3. Proposed Institutional Collaboration Framework (example of Indonesia) .
4. FAQ
1. Summary
Meaningful Artificial Intelligence (MAI) presents a comprehensive model for governing AI. MAI aims explicitly to "close the digital divide" by launching an AI Moonshot, which refers to a valiant effort to establish a firm international law for AI governance by January 1, 2026. After that date, it may be too late to protect all citizens under a single governance model. MAI aligns with the United Nations AI Commission but seeks to be operationalized by the Group of 21, which includes the USA as well as China. Originating from the Global South, MAI is activating a coalition of the six significant developing countries of the Global South: Indonesia (which hosted the G20 in 2022), India (hosting in 2023), Brazil (hosting in 2024), South Africa (hosting in 2025), Saudi Arabia, and Mexico, where the MAI secretariat is headquartered.
Global Alignment Through MAI
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An essential aspect of these selected nations is their neutrality. They are agnostic regarding the significant technological division of our era: the US/China bifurcation. MAI produces incentives that may allow these two superpowers to align their economies for mutual benefit.
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As of June 2024, there is no global AI regulation. Furthermore, no viable framework has been proposed to bring all AI parties together under a single model. Visionaries, ranging from physicist Stephen Hawking to statesman Henry Kissinger, have previously asserted that AI presents an existential threat to humanity. Recent voices, including prominent figures in AI like Gregory Hinton, Elon Musk, and Sam Altman, and even Pope Francis, have echoed a call for immediate AI regulation. However, despite these warnings, the new frontier models of AI, e.g., ChatGPT and ERNIE (from Baidu in China), are advancing without global guardrails.
Beyond the AI Arms Race
Competing AI laboratories, along with their respective nations and regions, have been vigorously vying to set the standard for Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) before others beat them to it. AGI signifies the point at which AI machines could potentially surpass human intelligence, driven by two primary motivations:
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Economic Impact: McKinsey & Co suggests that incorporating AI into markets may contribute up to $15 trillion to the global economy by 2030. Ark Investment predicts a $200 trillion uptick in markets by the same date.
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Geopolitical Significance: Assuming either the US or China achieves AGI supremacy first, either one hopes to wield substantial influence and control over other nations. However, that geopolar view is short-sighted, in our view.
Differentiating MAI’s Approach
MAI stands apart from influential strategies embraced by the US, EU, UK, and China due to its roots in the insights gained from the global movement to bridge the digital divide, where an equitable global economy is deemed possible. Launched in 1999 when the Digital Divide Institute was created, the movement to close the digital divide aimed to foster an equitable distribution of the benefits of the internet despite the absence of explicit internet regulation. However, this movement was "hacked." Instead of producing equality, the movement to close the digital divide has been characterized by unprecedented economic inequality.
Notably, eight digital billionaires – associated with Big AI – now possess wealth equivalent to half the combined wealth of the planet's eight billion inhabitants.
Nevertheless, the digital divide strategies have demonstrated one significant success: the immense market-development potential of the global lower-middle class, concentrated in the aforementioned developing nations. Thus, by focusing on these five countries across five continents (along with the surrounding lower-income nations within each region), an AI model can attract market forces from the US, China, the EU, and others, all of which are competing to establish market dominance in the Global South. This comprehensive strategy can pave the way for a global approach to AI governance, which we refer to herein as Meaningful AI.
Promoting an AI Middle Way: Not as regulated as China, nor as
deregulated as the USA
The American entrepreneurial AI approach now led by OpenAI has a lot to teach the world. So does the Chinese regulatory approach. That vision of complementarity motivates the Digital Divide Institute to put forward MAI to world leaders.
2. Consumer framework
3. Institutional framework (example of Indonesia)
4. FAQ
For an FAQ go here.