Press Statement: Paradigm Initiative to champion Global South Priorities in AI Governance at the 81st UN General Assembly

As world leaders convene in New York for the 81st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to deliberate on multilateral digital cooperation, Paradigm Initiative (PIN) will be represented by its Executive Director, ‘Gbenga Sesan, to call for global technology governance that centres the rights, autonomy and realities of underserved communities to avoid entrenching technological extractivism, algorithmic marginalisation and rights violations. 

During UNGA week, among other engagements, PIN will host a dinner with civil society partners, government representatives, private-sector actors and technical experts on 24 September 2026, to consolidate a unified Global South agenda on AI and digital self-determination. Drawing on PIN’s recent Global South primer, titled What’s the Whole Fuss About AI? A Global South Primer, and grounded in two decades of institutional experience documented in the book, The PIN Story: A Work in Progress, PIN cautions that unequal access to the internet and automated systems may exacerbate existing structural divides.

“The gap between the connected and the unconnected (as well as the disconnected) may become much wider as those who already have access are equipped with tools that give them additional advantage,” notes ‘Gbenga Sesan, PIN’s Executive Director, in PIN’s Primer.

As AI deployment accelerates, Paradigm Initiative’s primer lays out actionable guidelines for rights-respecting AI deployment, data sovereignty, linguistic inclusion, and safeguards against automated marginalisation. The Primer seeks to understand what technology can do; who benefits and who benefits first; who was in the room when the standard was set; and what redress exists when it goes wrong. PIN notes that without deliberate correction, AI “risks reinforcing historical patterns of exclusion, dependency, and unequal power relations.” 

To join this engagement, interested stakeholders can register to explore key concerns in the Global South and map the future.

To interact with PIN’s work on AI, please explore the links below:

• The Global South Primer: What’s the Whole Fuss About AI? A Global South Primer examines the social, legal and human rights dimensions of AI and provides key questions for policymakers, researchers and civil society across the Global South.
• About AI in Africa: Reflecting Paradigm Initiative’s Footprint
• The Book: The PIN Story: A Work in Progress chronicles Paradigm Initiative’s evolution over two decades, documenting the methodologies, operational lessons and advocacy strategies that have shaped digital rights in Africa.

To schedule interviews with Paradigm Initiative’s Executive Director or to purchase copies of the PIN Book, please contact media@paradigmhq.org.

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