In this explainer piece, East Asia Analyst Soojin Jang explores the shift from universal AI standards toward context-sensitive value alignment. By examining the distinct regulatory trajectories of India and Saudi Arabia, the piece highlights how non-Western powers are moving beyond mere technology adoption to become architects of global AI ethics integrating cultural, religious, and national priorities into a diversifying global governance landscape.
Executive Summary:
- AI systems increasingly shape social choices and value judgments, raising ethical concerns that extend beyond technical performance.
- The WEF’s AI Value Alignment framework underscores the need for context-sensitive ethical approaches rather than a single universal standard.
- AI governance is evolving as states develop regulations aligned with domestic values while engaging with international norms. India and Saudi Arabia illustrate how non-Western countries are actively shaping AI ethics frameworks rather than merely adopting Western-led models. These developments point to a more plural and diversified global AI governance landscape.
Data bias emerging in interactions between generative AI chatbots and users, digital bias amplified by AI algorithms in social media environments, and ethical dilemmas faced by autonomous vehicles when required to decide whom to protect in extreme crisis situations are becoming increasingly salient as the pace of AI technological development accelerates. These cases illustrate that AI no longer functions merely as a tool, but increasingly operates as an actor that directly intervenes in social choices and value judgments.
This growing concern is articulated more clearly in the AI Value Alignment white paper published by the World Economic Forum in 2024. The WEF identifies the alignment of AI systems with human value systems as a central challenge and underscores the urgency of establishing ethical design principles. This perspective is grounded in the understanding that AI does not operate solely on statistics and rules, but functions within human emotions, relationships, and broader social contexts. From this standpoint, AI ethics cannot be effectively governed by a single universal standard. Rather, it requires a layered and context-sensitive approach that takes into account cultural, religious, and political differences. This suggests that AI ethics is no longer confined to the realm of technology policy, but has become a matter of social value choice.
Today, states seek to reflect these characteristics by developing AI regulatory frameworks that align with their own cultural and social values, while simultaneously pursuing consistency with international standards such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The European Union’s AI Act represent prominent examples of this approach. However, these regulatory models are no longer limited to Western countries alone. Non-Western states are also increasingly moving to institutionalize AI ethics in ways that reflect their own value systems.
Among them, India and Saudi Arabia are emerging as significant strategic actors in global AI ethics discussions. Rather than simply adopting existing Western-led norms, both countries are actively participating in the formation of international AI ethics frameworks by integrating their core social values with national strategies. In this sense, they exemplify the country-specific pluralism of AI value alignment highlighted by the WEF.
India plays a siginificant role in global AI technology supply chains and labor markets. Since 2022, India has consistently promoted AI policies centered on fairness, inclusiveness, and responsibility under the guiding principle of YUVA AI for All. Given India’s large population, issues of fairness in AI extend beyond abstract ethical debate and are closely linked to the reliability and safety of digital devices used by large segments of society. In this context, concerns arising from the expansion of generative AI such as copyright infringement, misinformation, surveillance, and data security have become key factors prompting the Indian government to address AI ethics as a matter of national law and regulation. AI-related legislation under development since 2024 is widely regarded as an effort to preserve technological innovation while institutionally safeguarding creators’ rights and public trust.
Saudi Arabia also occupies an important position in AI ethics discussions. Through Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia has positioned AI as a core instrument for economic diversification and national competitiveness. Saudi Arabia, through the Saudi Data and AI Authority (SDAIA), has been actively promoting ethical AI principles that align with UNESCO’s AI ethics recommendations, which were endorsed by 193 countries in 2021. By announcing its national AI ethics principles and formally adopting UNESCO’s framework, the Kingdom has emphasized the importance of aligning domestic AI governance with internationally recognized norms. The establishment of the International Center for AI Research and Ethics in 2023 further reflects Saudi Arabia’s strategic intention to move beyond the role of a technology adopter and assume a more proactive position in shaping global AI ethics frameworks.
Ultimately, AI ethics has become a national strategic issue closely intertwined with digital sovereignty, and international influence. An analysis centered on India and Saudi Arabia suggests that AI ethics is no longer confined to competition among the United States, China, and the European Union. Instead, it points toward a future in which non-Western states actively participate in shaping AI ethics norms and contribute to a more diversified global governance landscape.
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