Next Step
The AI Middle Way Coalition will advance through three stages within the critical 2026–2027 window — before AI infrastructure lock-in becomes irreversible.
The Foundation
The Digital Divide Institute has already conducted detailed assessments of each nation's fragmented policy landscape. We have identified the specific national agencies that must be involved, the key individuals within those agencies who hold decision-making authority, and the pathways through which these leaders can be convened to evaluate the AI Middle Way as a coalition framework.
This groundwork is essential — we are not proposing to start from zero, but to build on relationships and analysis already in place.
Stage One — Founding Nations
Stage One encompasses the four founding nations. Each stage begins with a focused policy seminar that convenes key government officials, selected academics, corporate executives, NGO leaders, and philanthropic grantmakers in a structured discussion. Each seminar culminates in an invitation for participants to signal their support for a national declaration on Meaningful AI — creating binding momentum for coalition membership.
Policy Seminar held at Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok. Nine key government officials participated, alongside academic, corporate, NGO, and philanthropic representatives. The cross-sector composition ensured the declaration reflects practical realities of implementation. The Bangkok Declaration now serves as the template for all subsequent national declarations.
Replicating the Bangkok model in Jakarta. Indonesia's long-standing engagement with the Digital Divide Institute — dating to our Meaningful Broadband collaboration in 2019–2020 — provides a strong foundation for rapid progress. Established relationships with key figures in Indonesia's ICT leadership ensure the seminar builds on years of trust.
Mexico represents a critical bridge between the coalition's Asian founding members and the broader Latin American context. Its inclusion ensures the AI Middle Way framework is tested and refined across diverse governance traditions and economic realities.
Signed in Johannesburg with South Africa as the African Union anchor. Four-day event at the CSIR International Convention Centre, Pretoria, in partnership with CSIR, DCDT, the AU Commission, and the University of Pretoria. The Lima Declaration is the third founding declaration and the first to be anchored in Africa, representing both South Africa's government and the 55 member states of the African Union. Peru participates as the Latin American Declaration host.
The founding declarations — Bangkok, Jakarta, Mexico City, and Lima (signed in Johannesburg) — converge in London for a culminating event that closes Tier One and sets the stage for Tier Two (Brazil, Kenya, and Nigeria) in 2027. London is chosen as a neutral convening ground between the AI Middle Way and the world's financial and policy institutions, and as preparation for the UK G20 2027 agenda-setting cycle.
2027 onward
Tier Two begins in 2027 with Brazil, Kenya, and Nigeria. Tier Three brings India and Saudi Arabia. Tier Four consolidates institutional partners including the Vatican. Tier Five — the apotheosis — begins in mid-2028 with an aspirational collaboration between the United States and China within the AI Middle Way framework. See Where We Work for the full roadmap.
The Path Forward
The AI Middle Way Coalition is designed for speed, coherence, and leverage. By beginning with four carefully selected nations whose combined populations exceed 400 million people, we create immediate scale. By using each national declaration as a template for the next, we create momentum. And by convening the right people — government officials, academics, corporate leaders, NGO representatives, and philanthropic partners — in structured policy seminars, we create the conditions for durable, cross-sector commitment.
The urgency is real. The criteria are rigorous. The groundwork is done. What remains is execution — and the 2026–2027 window will not remain open indefinitely.
After 2027, AI infrastructure lock-in makes change prohibitively expensive. The time to act is now.