Power in the age of artificial intelligence (AI) is being built in chip factories, research labs, data centres and export control lists. The question is no longer whether AI will change the world. It is whether the rules for that world will be written by California’s AI firms, Beijing’s ministries and regulators in Brussels, or by a wider community that includes countries like India.

AI governance is becoming a contest over access. Building the strongest systems confers power. Increasingly, so does the ability to decide who may use them and on what terms.

On July 6 and 7, the United Nations convened its first global dialogue on AI governance in Geneva. Its value was to give every government a place in a debate that markets and great powers have so far dominated.

Washington speaks of safety while seeking to preserve its lead. Its action plan stresses innovation, infrastructure and exports to allies. Recent US decisions on access to advanced Anthropic models showed that these systems are not ordinary software. A model available one day can be restricted the next. Access is becoming an instrument of power.

Beijing has reached a similar conclusion, while presenting AI as a global public good. On July 16, 29 countries signed an agreement to establish the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization, or WAICO — a Shanghai-based intergovernmental body focused on global AI governance. India was not among the signatories. WAICO gives Beijing both a means to shape the rules and........

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