What the West can learn from AI optimists in the rest of the world

A recent debate on AI's impact in the cultural sector highlighted a striking contrast between Western and Global South perspectives. The speaker, the only optimist in a room of Dutch politicians and creative industry leaders, argued that fear and risk should not be the primary lenses through which we govern AI. Instead, he suggested that we should focus on what we want AI to achieve, rather than what we wish to prevent.

This perspective is particularly relevant in the Global South, where AI is enthusiastically embraced and put to innovative use.

The speaker pointed out that countries in the Global South, such as China, Indonesia, and Thailand, are among the most optimistic about AI's benefits. In these regions, 83%, 80%, and 77% of respondents respectively believe that AI-powered products offer more advantages than drawbacks. In contrast, only 17% of U.S. adults share this optimistic view, according to a 2025 Pew Research Center survey.

One reason for this difference lies in demographics. Nearly 90% of the world's young people live outside the West, and they are not just using AI—they are playing with it. In India, for instance, AI has allowed entrepreneurs to reach clients far beyond the English-speaking world, reinventing their businesses more quickly than before.

Similarly, a civic activist in Chennai built a gender violence-alert app using AI, despite facing funding cuts and rising state scrutiny. In China, AI-made micro-dramas have become a multibillion-dollar industry, with low-cost productions attracting millions of views overseas.

The speaker emphasized that constraint often forces people to rewrite the rules and innovate. In the West, fear of AI has led to a culture of pessimism, which many see as a virtue. This risk-averse attitude turns AI adoption into a measure of competitiveness, rather than a means to solve concrete public needs. However, in the Global South, where resources are scarce, AI is often built around solving real-world problems.

India's India Stack, a public digital infrastructure for identity, payments, and data-sharing, is an example of how countries with limited resources can leverage AI to address critical challenges.

The speaker concluded by urging the West to reconsider its narrow view of AI's potential. Instead of focusing solely on the risks and threats posed by AI, we should also ask what AI can help us rebuild and create. Young people around the world are already using AI for work and entertainment, demonstrating its transformative potential. By learning from the optimism and innovation in the Global South, the West can broaden its approach to AI and unlock new possibilities for the future.