Artificial intelligence is no longer a niche issue—it is a defining force in international relations. From autonomous weapons and surveillance to AI-driven trade logistics and global health, its impact is as sweeping as it is unregulated. This pervasive influence underscores the critical significance of establishing robust frameworks for global AI governance to ensure its development and deployment align with ethical principles and societal well-being.
Its reach is expansive, yet despite its vast implications, AI governance remains largely concentrated in the hands of senior policymakers, corporate leaders, and technocrats. The voices of the next generation—those who will inherit and advance this technology—are still notably absent from the global policy table. Youth Leaders Davos (YLD), a powerful initiative founded and led by the visionary global educator and entrepreneur April Swando Hu (Yale ’84), provided a unique platform to address this critical gap during the 2025 World Economic Forum week in Davos, Switzerland. In Davos, I joined youth leaders from across the globe to confront one of the most urgent challenges of our time: ethical and inclusive AI governance. This catalytic incubator of ideas, conceived by Ms. Hu’s commitment to fostering future-oriented leadership, transformed abstract interests into actionable conviction.
Participating in a specialized forum on the ethical implications of AI in healthcare diagnostics and a simulation exercise on international cooperation in regulating large language models served as critical launchpads for understanding the complexities and urgency of youth involvement in these crucial conversations. These experiences underscored how the future of global governance will be inextricably linked to the governance of artificial intelligence, demanding the inclusion of diverse perspectives to navigate its profound societal implications.
Global institutions have begun to respond: UNESCO introduced a global ethical framework for AI, the OECD offers AI policy observatories, and the EU’s AI Act marks a regulatory landmark. While these frameworks represent important progress, there remains an opportunity to integrate more diverse, youth-driven perspectives—especially from the Global South. Young people, who are both at the forefront of technological innovation and among those most impacted by its outcomes, bring vital insights that can complement the expertise of established policymakers and technocrats.
This generational gap became clear during discussions where senior leaders contributed deep expertise on the technical and geopolitical dimensions of AI, while our cohort brought complementary perspectives rooted in ethical urgency, lived experience, and future-oriented thinking. We questioned how AI could reinforce structural inequities if left unchecked, and how algorithmic opacity might deepen divisions along socioeconomic and racial lines. Far from being idealistic, these concerns reflected a grounded understanding of how power and technology intersect.
International institutions can embed fairness, transparency, and sustainability into digital systems by adopting inclusive, human-centered design standards that prioritize equity across socioeconomic and cultural contexts. Fairness begins with representative data: AI systems must be trained on diverse, de-biased datasets that reflect global populations, not just data from dominant regions or demographics. To ensure transparency, institutions should advocate for algorithmic explainability—requiring developers to disclose decision-making processes and enabling public audits of AI tools deployed in high-stakes areas like healthcare and finance. Sustainability, meanwhile, demands regulatory alignment between technological innovation and environmental stewardship; this includes incentivizing energy-efficient AI models and embedding climate risk assessments into digital infrastructure development. Only through such principled and coordinated action can international institutions ensure that AI development aligns with the broader goals of equity, accountability, and long-term global well-being.
History offers precedents. Youth-led advocacy has long shaped global discourse—from the anti-apartheid movement to climate activism. More recently, figures like Greta Thunberg and Malala Yousafzai have challenged international bodies to rethink who gets to speak and what solutions are prioritized. Yet when it comes to emerging technologies like AI, young voices are often sidelined in favor of corporate interests or state security agendas.
What would a more inclusive model of AI governance look like? It would involve intergenerational collaboration, yes, but also concrete policy mechanisms: youth representation in multilateral AI forums, funding for grassroots AI education in underrepresented regions, and a global youth assembly to propose digital rights frameworks. Just as the Paris Agreement was shaped by civil society and indigenous voices, the future of AI demands broad-based legitimacy grounded in ethical pluralism.
Three key principles should guide international AI governance moving forward. First, self-aware leadership. Before we can regulate machines, we must interrogate our own values. Leadership development grounded in self-reflection, empathy, and humility is critical to resisting the technocratic temptation to govern from above. Second, cross-cultural intelligence. AI systems are trained on data, but values are shaped by culture. Building ethical AI requires deep, cross-cultural engagement that prioritizes local contexts and historically marginalized communities. Third, purpose-driven innovation. Innovation must serve people, not just markets. As the tech sector becomes increasingly globalized, international bodies must align AI development with public goods—healthcare, education, and climate resilience—rather than profit maximization.
The principles of self-awareness, cross-cultural intelligence, and purpose-driven innovation, underscored during my time with Youth Leaders Davos during the 2025 World Economic Forum week, offer a vital framework for how the next generation can and must contribute to shaping the ethical trajectory of AI on a global scale. Given the profound and multifaceted impact of AI on the international order, the inclusion of youth perspectives in its governance is not merely desirable but an imperative for a future that is both technologically advanced and ethically sound.
Artificial intelligence does not represent an inevitable trajectory, but rather a domain shaped by intentional design. The principles and values that guide its development today will fundamentally influence the international order and societal structures of tomorrow. The insights gained at Youth Leaders Davos highlight the urgent need to empower young leaders in this critical endeavor.
Featured/Headline Image Caption and Citation: Annual Meeting Davos: Aerial photograph of Davos, Image sourced from Flickr | CC License, no changes made