President Macky Sall's candidacy for the office of UN Secretary-General places access to the means of artificial intelligence among its priorities. AI does not run on ideas alone; it rests on three scarce resources, computing power, data and energy, today concentrated in few hands.
Computing power, a concentrated scarcity. The most advanced chips come from a handful of firms, in a few countries. Training a large model demands computing power and sums beyond the reach of most states. A country can write rules for artificial intelligence and still have no means to build it.
Data, an unequal raw material. A model is worth what the data that trained it is worth. Those who hold the most shape the tools; the others supply the material without deciding its use or drawing profit from it. A country's data trains tools it will then have to rent.
Energy, the other scarcity. Data centres consume vast amounts of electricity and water. The race for artificial intelligence is also a race for energy, and the countries that lack it fall behind on one more front. A technology presented as weightless bears, very concretely, on power grids.
What the Secretariat can carry. The Secretary-General does not build data centres. He can write access to computing power, data and energy into the global governance of artificial intelligence, support shared computing capacity and shared data, and remind the world that governing AI also means sharing its means, so that the majority of countries are not left as customers of others' models.
Experience in multilateral negotiation. Twelve years as head of state and the chairmanship of the African Union in 2022 underpin these commitments. That experience explains why the vision statement filed with the United Nations frames its proposals as obligations: peace, security and development conceived together; a renewed multilateralism; stronger governance of the Organization.
Africa at its heart, the world in its sights.
The Global Digital Compact and the report "Governing AI for Humanity" are public. Read all public positions at www.mackysall.net