The book presents detailed discussions of such interventions in 11 sectors:

Education, Agriculture, Mining, Mobile Telephony, Legal Profession, Banking and Finance, Healthcare, Manufacturing, Infrastructure and Public Works, Tourism and Hospitality, and Governance.

Thus, the book addresses AI's value proposition to the developmental agenda of the Global South by focusing on its critical industries.

For each sector, the nature and manifestation of the challenges are discussed, and broad non-AI solutions are proffered first.

After that, potential AI-anchored interventions are advanced.

Countries in the Global South must learn from one another, both generally and specifically, with respect to the adoption and development of AI.

The book presents and reviews 10 case studies of countries from the developing world: China, India, Singapore, Rwanda, Malaysia, Mauritius, South Africa, Kenya, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Zimbabwe.

The objective is to harvest best practices from these countries' AI experiences and share the key learnings across the Global South.

With each case study, the country's general strengths and successes in its economy are reviewed, and lessons are drawn from them.

Thereafter, AI-based interventions are discussed, and key learnings are extracted.

Regional and continental AI efforts are also reviewed, particularly the African Union's (AU) blueprint, released in July 2024, titled "Continental Artificial Intelligence Strategy: Harnessing AI for Africa’s Development and Prosperity."

Similarly, the book provides a critique of the Final Report of the UN Secretary-General's High-Level Advisory Body, titled "Governing AI for Humanity: A Global Framework for AI Oversight". The document was released on 19 September 2024.

As a way forward, the book proposes that each country in the Global South develop and adopt a National AI Strategic Framework comprising six distinct but related components:

Vision, Strategy, Policy, Governance, Legislation and Regulation, and Implementation Matrix.

These national frameworks must be linked to similar and corresponding regional, continental, and beyond-continental ones.

Economies of scale and regulatory harmonisation must be at the centre of AI adoption.

For example, beyond their national AI efforts, Zambia and South Africa must leverage the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the African continent, Global Africa, and the Global South.

However, all these efforts will only succeed if anchored and driven by bold, visionary, strategic, and tech-savvy leadership at organisational, national, regional, continental and global levels.

Leadership is everything in AI

Emerging and least industrialised countries need leaders who can create and articulate a clear, compelling, and technology-driven vision that inspires and motivates their citizens and institutions to achieve inclusive development and shared prosperity.

These transformational and innovative igniters and doers must possess a unique blend of foresight, passion, and innovation, enabling them to see beyond the current challenges of the Global South and anticipate AI opportunities, trends and challenges.

They must be adept at strategic thinking and possess a solid understanding of both history and geopolitics, particularly the complex and often exploitative relationship between the Global South and the Global North.