Page 68 - The Annual AI Governance Report 2025 Steering the Future of AI

The Annual AI Governance Report 2025: Steering the Future of AI

Dive deeper in the Whitepaper “Themes and Trends in AI Governance”:

• 2.2 Steps towards addressing the AI Divide Pillars Chapter 2: Ten

2.5 Capacity for All, Not Just a Few

Even where there is political will, many countries lack the capacity to implement robust AI
governance. Capacity gaps exist in skills, institutions, infrastructure, and financing. The
discussions highlighted that without intentional strategies to close these gaps, developing
countries will be locked into a position of dependency, consumers of AI shaped elsewhere.

Proposals ranged from global funds for compute access to regional training hubs and toolkits
tailored for small states. Several participants argued for shared infrastructure models — “AI
commons” — that pool resources across borders to democratize access. The message was clear:
capacity-building is not charity but a precondition for equitable governance.

Emmy Lou Versoza-Delfin mentioned the Philippine Skills Framework for AI Analytics crafted
by industry, and Digital Transformation Centers to provide free equipment and connectivity
for marginalized sectors.

Figure 13: H�E� Mr� Hubert Vargas Picado, Vice Minister, Ministerio de Ciencia,
Innovación, Tecnología y Telecomunicaciones, Costa Rica; H�E� Dr� Tatenda Annastacia
Mavetera, Minister, Ministry of Information Communication Technology, Postal and
Courier Services, Zimbabwe
Hubert Vargas Picado (Costa Rica) described initiatives which Costa Rica launched to close its
innovation gap. A public sector AI training program bridges the gap with the private sector.
Costa Rica has also opened laboratories for SMEs (e.g., 5G applications, AgriBoost for AI
in coffee farming) and developed an OECD AI toolkit to share knowledge with neighboring
Central American and Caribbean countries, shifting from aid recipients to knowledge providers.

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