Responsible AI Development and the Fight Against Digital Inequality: Key Takeaways from GDF 2026

The forum’s central idea was to combine technological independence with international cooperation. Experts agreed that digital sovereignty means more than access to software and hardware. It also means being able to manage data, develop homegrown IT solutions and keep them running with domestic talent. Meanwhile, some challenges can only be addressed through collective global action.

AI Under Control

One of the key topics was the rapid development of neural networks. But the focus was not on unveiling new models. Forum guests were more interested in the ethical implications of these technologies. At the session “Global Dialogue on AI Ethics: An Expert Forum on Emerging Challenges,” participants discussed the responsibilities of developers and users, system safety and the limits of algorithmic autonomy.

At the session “Open-Source Models: How to Balance Opportunities and Vulnerabilities,” participants took a closer look at how open-source solutions could help narrow the digital divide between countries and strengthen technological independence. They discussed both the benefits and the risks. Open access to a model does not automatically mean it can be used safely without testing and adaptation.

Experts from Indonesia and Nigeria explored this challenge in greater detail. Firlie Hanggado Ganinduto, a representative of KADIN Indonesia, stressed that AI quality and safety must be evaluated in the language in which the system will actually be used. Oluwatoni Falade highlighted the need for systems that “understand” local languages. AI systems must also account for each country’s national context and ethical norms.

A practical outcome of this session was the expansion of the international group of participants in the Code of Ethics in the Field of Artificial Intelligence. Andrey Neznamov, chairman of the Russian National Commission on AI Ethics, announced that new organizations had joined the initiative. The code establishes voluntary principles for the responsible use of AI, but it does not replace national legislation or infringe on the sovereignty of participating countries.

Russia proposed using the United Nations as the central forum for coordinating these principles, with all countries participating on an equal footing. Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Alimov stressed the need to take developing countries’ interests into account, while Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Grigorenko linked AI adoption to higher productivity and economic growth.

Digital Sovereignty: Russia’s Model for the Global South

On the forum’s second day, October 9, participants and senior guests discussed digital sovereignty. Sergey Kiriyenko, First Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office of the Russian Federation, addressed the session. He noted that Russia had come a long way toward achieving technological sovereignty and had, in effect, reached that goal. Russia’s experience showed many countries that there were no longer any limits on interference in their internal affairs, and that every country had to protect its interests independently.

At the same time, Russia is open to foreign companies as long as they comply with Russian law. It is also ready to engage in constructive cooperation with any country.

“We believe that access to digital technologies and digital sovereignty are an inalienable right of every people and every sovereign state. We are ready to be full-fledged partners, not imposing our own solutions in place of other global platforms, but helping partner countries build a fully developed industry and achieve full digital sovereignty,” Kiriyenko stressed.

Drawing on its experience in the nuclear industry, Russia is ready to do more than export a technological model. It also aims to help partner countries build entire self-sustaining sectors, including in science, education, infrastructure and manufacturing, by establishing joint ventures, transferring expertise and developing systems for training local professionals.

Maxut Shadayev, Minister of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media of the Russian Federation, supported Kiriyenko’s position. He described how domestic technologies are replacing Western solutions.

Participants agreed that digital sovereignty does not mean isolation. It means the freedom to make independent choices and the ability to cooperate on equal terms. The more countries achieve technological independence, the more stable the global digital environment will be. Leading BRICS countries, meanwhile, can offer the Global South technological solutions that are just as capable as their Western counterparts.

Homegrown Technology Without Isolation

At the plenary session “Digital Sovereignty: From Resource to Export Asset,” participants discussed opportunities for Russian cooperation with countries in the Global South. On the forum’s final day, Maxim Oreshkin, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office, delivered a lecture on control over data and platforms as a matter of national security. A discussion on Russia’s and Africa’s digital architecture covered technology transfer, infrastructure, cybersecurity and workforce training.

Natalya Kasperskaya, president of the InfoWatch group of companies, proposed a practical approach: smaller countries can work with IT solution providers that are willing to disclose source code and deploy systems within the customer’s territory. In her view, this allows a country to develop its own platforms and expertise without handing control over them to foreign companies.

AI Will Not Replace Humans

Another pressing topic was the future of the media in the age of neural networks. At the discussion “People Need People: Trust in the Media in the Age of AI,” experts examined the gap between the speed at which content can be produced and the audience’s ability to verify its accuracy. AI can quickly generate convincing text, images and videos, but ordinary users simply lack the tools to fact-check them.

Forum participants did not call for bans on journalists’ use of AI. Instead, they advocated dividing tasks appropriately. Algorithms can handle translation, transcription and certain stages of content preparation, while professional judgment, fact-checking and editorial decisions should remain in human hands. Ultimately, newsroom staff remain responsible for published information.

The discussion also led to a practical step: the IT Russia media platform and Bangladesh’s Chittagong Live portal signed a cooperation agreement to combat disinformation. The platform is also pursuing other partnerships focused on sharing educational solutions and technologies. Nigerian participant Nosahare Omoruyi, for example, sees partnership as an opportunity to bring Russian solutions to his country’s market.

Another outcome of the session was an agreement aimed at bringing countries together to combat harmful online content.

International Alliance to Protect Children

One of the forum’s most significant outcomes was the signing, on October 9, of a joint statement establishing the Global Alliance for the Protection of Children in the Digital Environment. The alliance held its first meeting that same day. Russia was represented by Elizaveta Belyakova, chair of the Alliance for the Protection of Children in the Digital Environment. The new alliance is being established as an independent, voluntary international body open to government agencies, businesses, the research community, nongovernmental organizations and relevant international organizations.

Representatives of government agencies from Russia, Abkhazia, Nicaragua, South Ossetia and the Central African Republic joined the initiative, along with nongovernmental organizations from Asia and Africa. The initiative was launched by Russia’s Alliance for the Protection of Children in the Digital Environment, which plans to share its accumulated expertise and solutions. The new body is intended to provide a permanent platform for exchanging experience, including on threats associated with artificial intelligence.

Child protection was discussed as more than a matter of technical filtering. Participants addressed legal frameworks, digital literacy and the skills needed to stay safe online. This approach calls for coordinated efforts by technology developers, educational institutions and governments.

Education and Technology Programs

There were other examples of international agreements as well. The Higher School of Economics signed an agreement with the Central African Republic under a knowledge-sharing program focused on digitalization and public administration in African countries. The cooperation includes workforce training and joint research into opportunities to implement projects.

The Moscow Technical University of Communications and Informatics also signed several agreements with international partners. Their main objectives include training professionals in information security and telecommunications, as well as advancing AI and other information technologies. Rector Sergey Erokhin expects the technical details to be finalized by the end of the year, with the first results to follow next year.

Agile Dynamics and ETI announced a 12-month program to develop Cuba’s biotechnology ecosystem and sovereign AI in Spanish. The initiative links technological independence to industry needs and language adaptation. Work on the Digital Sovereignty Index is also moving forward: forum participant Bouabdallah Djalal from Algeria announced that a memorandum on the initiative had been signed.

Infrastructure and Industry-Specific Solutions

Connectivity development was discussed at the plenary session “Telecom Infrastructure: Needs and Solutions. Global Experience.” One of its central topics was TeaNext, a terrestrial fiber-optic backbone connecting Russia’s eastern borders with China and Mongolia, and its western borders with Belarus and the European Union. Experts also examined low-Earth-orbit satellite communications and the risks that fragmented regulation poses to security and digital sovereignty.

Practical sessions covered healthcare, agriculture and urban management. Participants discussed shifting from treatment to prevention through digital tools, using satellites, drones and phones on small farms, and establishing quality criteria for smart cities. At the October 10 discussion “Smart City KPIs: A New Standard of Quality,” the focus was on indicators for assessing how metropolitan areas are developing to meet residents’ needs.

Marina Mongush, president of the Creative Economy autonomous nonprofit organization, offered several thought-provoking ideas in her forward-looking lecture. She argued that AI would not hinder the growth of the creative industries as long as the people directing it brought their country’s cultural identity to their work. On the contrary, AI could help them come up with new and distinctive solutions.

The main outcome of GDF 2026 was a shift from general interest to agreements on concrete work. The next stage involves training specialists, conducting research, adapting systems and launching services.

The Second Global Digital Forum is held with the support of the Russian Government, the Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media of the Russian Federation, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation.

The forum’s partners include the Moscow Government (general partner); PSB Bank PJSC (strategic partner); A7, Russia’s international settlement system (special partner); VKontakte (official partner); Roscosmos and the Central Research Institute of Machine Building (space partners); Rostelecom and T2 (technology partners); as well as Positive Technologies, Ruwiki, Signaltek JSC, TData and Petroglyph. The forum is organized by the autonomous nonprofit organizations National Priorities and the Center for Global IT-Cooperation.