At the World Summit in Shanghai on artificial intelligence, held from July 17 to 20, 2026, the Minister of Communication Technologies, Sofiene Hemissi, advocated for ethical and transparent governance of artificial intelligence. In his speech, he highlighted the importance of a global framework that ensures respect for human rights, as well as the need to reduce the digital divide on a global scale. Tunisia’s commitment to building an integrated national ecosystem for artificial intelligence was also emphasized.
The need for a global governance framework
Minister Hemissi expressed during the high-level meeting dedicated to the global governance of artificial intelligence that the development of a global framework is crucial to ensure responsible use of this technology. This framework should be based on principles such as transparency, fairness, and data protection, in order to promote sustainable and inclusive development.
Reducing the digital divide
Another essential point of his intervention concerns the necessity to reduce the digital divide, which remains a major obstacle to development and equitable access to information technologies. Sofiene Hemissi emphasized the importance of investing in interoperable digital infrastructures to enable all countries to access and benefit from artificial intelligence.
A lever for equitable development
According to Hemissi, artificial intelligence represents an essential lever to promote equitable development and increased cooperation among nations. He insisted that for this technology to enrich societies, its benefits must be shared in a manner accessible to all, rather than monopolized by a few advanced countries.
Tunisia’s commitment to AI integration
The minister also reaffirmed Tunisia’s commitment to establishing an integrated national ecosystem for artificial intelligence, in line with the priorities of the National Development Plan 2026-2030. This national strategy is based on several fundamental pillars: the primacy of the human dimension, inclusive access to these technologies, and the preservation of national sovereignty over digital data.
A momentum towards shared governance
In conclusion of his speech, Sofiene Hemissi called for increased international cooperation, specifying that artificial intelligence should not become the monopoly of a single state. The ideas expressed during this summit, particularly those of Chinese President Xi Jinping, who also emphasized the importance of openness and cooperation, illustrate a general desire to move towards ethical governance of artificial intelligence.
To learn more about the challenges and perspectives of the summit dedicated to action in artificial intelligence, consult this article. You can also explore the ambitions of major companies, such as Microsoft, to free themselves from OpenAI’s influence in this link. Discover more details about the exploration of the challenges in the artificial intelligence market on this site, and the impact forecasts of ChatGPT for the year 2025 here.
Finally, discover the ambitions for a global agency dedicated to artificial intelligence in this article.
