Advisory Structure
An external advisory structure is in development. Advisory membership will be published only when formal commitments are documented and publicly verifiable.
About Atlas AI Institute
Atlas AI Institute is an independent, non-partisan research organisation advancing evidence-based AI governance and policy for the Global South — anchored in South Asia and committed to public-interest scholarship that reflects the governance realities of low- and middle-income countries.
- Independent
- Non-partisan
- Global South
- Open Access
01Mission & Purpose
Why Atlas AI Institute exists
The global discourse on artificial intelligence governance is disproportionately shaped by institutions in North America and Europe, often producing frameworks that are technically rigorous but contextually misaligned with the institutional capacities, legal traditions, and developmental priorities of the Global South. Atlas AI Institute was established to address this structural imbalance — not by rejecting international standards, but by ensuring that countries across South Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific are active architects of the norms that will govern transformative technology in their own societies.
Our work is grounded in the conviction that durable AI governance requires more than policy transplantation. It demands original research calibrated to local regulatory environments, public consultation processes adapted to varying levels of digital literacy, and institutional capacity built from the inside rather than imposed from without. We produce comparative analyses, regulatory design tools, and capacity-building resources that policy actors can actually use — irrespective of whether their ministries have dedicated AI offices or dedicated AI budgets.
Atlas AI Institute operates as a research institute in the public interest. We do not represent any government, corporation, political movement, or individual funder. Our findings are produced through transparent methodologies and are subject to documented editorial and ethics standards. Where evidence is contested or incomplete, we say so. This commitment to intellectual honesty is foundational to our institutional identity.
02Focus Areas
What We Do
Our research and advisory work spans six interlocking domains, each oriented toward practical policy relevance rather than purely academic output.
ResearchComparative AI Policy Analysis
Systematic analysis of national AI strategies, regulatory proposals, governance institutions, and implementation mechanisms across Global South and OECD jurisdictions, identifying policy gaps, transferable approaches, and divergence risks.
PolicyAI Governance & Regulatory Design
Research, analytical tools, and working documents supporting governments, regulators, and other policy actors developing AI governance frameworks, algorithmic accountability measures, data governance structures, and public-sector AI protocols.
CapacityGlobal South & LDC Institutional Capacity
Research and practical resources addressing the institutional, technical, and resource constraints faced by Least Developed Countries and emerging economies as they develop AI governance capacity.
MonitoringPolicy Observatories & Benchmarking
Ongoing monitoring of AI governance developments across target regions, including comparative analysis of national policy development, regulatory coherence, and implementation progress.
CivicPublic-Interest AI & Digital Sovereignty
Analysis of AI deployment in public services and civic systems, with attention to algorithmic accountability, data rights, digital infrastructure, and public-interest governance.
EducationCapacity-Building & Research Translation
Practitioner-oriented training resources, policy briefs, explainers, and translated materials connecting technical AI research with the working knowledge of policymakers, civil servants, journalists, researchers, and civil society actors.
03Methodology
Our Approach
Atlas AI Institute does not produce research for its own sake. Every output is oriented toward a practical question: what can a policymaker, regulator, or civil society actor do differently as a result of reading this?
Our methodology combines quantitative evidence review, qualitative institutional analysis, and structured stakeholder engagement with governments and civil society across target regions. We apply documented source classification standards to distinguish between peer-reviewed findings, grey literature, institutional reports, and expert judgment.
- 01Evidence before prescription. Policy recommendations follow from documented evidence, not from prior commitments to particular governance models or technology positions.
- 02Context as a primary variable. Governance solutions are evaluated within the legal, institutional, and resource realities of the country under analysis — not against idealised standards abstracted from context.
- 03Transparent uncertainty. Where evidence is incomplete or contested, we document this explicitly rather than extrapolating from better-studied contexts.
- 04Stakeholder-grounded analysis. Research outputs are developed in dialogue with practitioners, civil servants, and civil society in the jurisdictions studied.
- 05Open access by default. All primary research publications are freely available without paywalls.
"Effective AI governance in the Global South cannot be built through simple policy transplantation. It requires honest analysis of institutional realities, local capacity, legal context, and the conditions under which governance systems can actually operate."
— Atlas AI Institute Research Principle
Frameworks we reference
- OECD AI Principles (2019, updated 2024)
- UNESCO Recommendation on the Ethics of AI (2021)
- EU AI Act Regulatory Architecture
- NIST AI Risk Management Framework (2023)
- ITU AI for Good / AI Policy Observatory
- AU AI Strategy and African Union frameworks
- G7 Hiroshima Process on AI
Atlas analyses Global South governance questions in dialogue with established international and regional frameworks. These frameworks inform comparative analysis but do not determine Atlas's conclusions.
04Geographic Focus
Centring the Global South
80%+Of the world's population lives in countries outside the OECD
5+Priority regions in current research scope
40+Countries without a published national AI strategy identified in Atlas's 2025 review
OpenAll primary research freely available
Population figure based on OECD membership and UN population data. Country classification and figures are subject to revision. Country-strategy count follows Atlas's published methodology and review scope, and is also subject to revision.
More than 80 percent of the world's population lives outside the OECD. The countries where AI deployment is growing fastest — and where governance capacity is most limited — are overwhelmingly in the Global South. Yet the institutions producing actionable AI governance research remain concentrated in Washington, London, Brussels, and Beijing.
Atlas AI Institute positions the Global South not as a passive recipient of AI governance norms, but as a constituency with distinct interests, institutional realities, and governance innovations that the global policy conversation has largely failed to incorporate.
Bangladesh and South Asia serve as our primary anchor — a region combining high rates of mobile-first digital adoption with significant public-sector digitalisation, a growing AI startup ecosystem, and governance institutions navigating rapid technological change with limited dedicated resources. From this anchor, our scope extends to:
- South Asia — Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Pakistan, Maldives
- Southeast Asia — with emphasis on ASEAN member states
- Sub-Saharan Africa — including AU digital policy processes
- Pacific Small Island Developing States
- Latin America & Caribbean — comparative governance analyses
Why Bangladesh as anchor?
Bangladesh provides a grounded research context for understanding the governance challenges facing digitally ambitious Least Developed Countries and emerging economies: evolving national AI policy architecture, rapid digitalisation, growing AI-enabled sectors, and public institutions developing AI governance capacity in real time. Research grounded in this context can generate insights relevant to other countries facing comparable institutional and developmental conditions.
05Leadership & Research Team
Leadership
Atlas AI Institute is led by a founding director and supported by researchers, advisors, and contributors working across AI governance, public policy, technology, law, and development.
Our leadership and research structure is designed to maintain intellectual independence, methodological integrity, and a Global South perspective across Atlas research and programmes.
06Institutional Governance
Governance & Structure
Atlas AI Institute is developing an independent governance structure designed to protect research freedom, editorial independence, methodological integrity, and accountability to its stated public-interest mission — rather than to any single government, funder, or institutional sponsor.
Legal Registration
Information on Atlas AI Institute's formal legal registration, jurisdiction of incorporation, and organisational status will be published once registration is confirmed and publicly verifiable, as part of our full institutional transparency commitment.
07Research Integrity
Research Standards & Ethics
Atlas AI Institute applies documented editorial and methodological standards to all research it produces or publishes. These standards govern source classification, author conflicts of interest, factual accuracy review, and the treatment of contested or uncertain evidence.
Source Classification
All research outputs distinguish, where relevant, between peer-reviewed research, government and institutional documents, grey literature, journalism, datasets, and expert analysis. Claims reliant on lower-confidence sources are qualified accordingly. Unverifiable statistics are not published without source attribution.
Conflicts of Interest
Authors and contributors are required to disclose financial relationships, institutional affiliations, and advisory roles that could constitute a conflict of interest relative to the subject matter of a publication. Disclosed conflicts are noted in the relevant publication.
Corrections Policy
Factual errors identified after publication are corrected promptly, labelled clearly, and dated. We do not silently edit published research. Substantive corrections that change a finding or recommendation are accompanied by an explanatory note.
Editorial Independence
No funder, partner, or advisory member has editorial authority over Atlas AI Institute research outputs. Funded projects are published only if they meet our internal standards; funders receive no right of veto or pre-publication review.
08Transparency
Transparency & Accountability
We hold ourselves to the same transparency standards we apply to the institutions we study.
Funding Disclosure
Atlas AI Institute is committed to publishing institutional funding information as funding arrangements are confirmed and verifiable. Where grants or project funding are accepted, relevant funders, amounts, project scope, and material funding conditions will be disclosed where appropriate.
Corrections & Accountability
All published research is subject to our documented corrections policy. Readers who identify factual inaccuracies, outdated citations, or errors in analysis are encouraged to contact us. Atlas aims to acknowledge substantive correction requests within ten working days and publish confirmed corrections promptly after review. A public log of corrections is maintained and linked from individual publications.
09How to Engage
Work With Us and Our Research
Atlas AI Institute's research is produced in the public interest and freely available. There are several ways to engage with our work.
Read Our Research
Access our published policy analyses, comparative governance reports, and working papers — freely available, no registration required.
Browse ResearchJoin the Coalition
Connect with researchers, civil society actors, and policymakers working on AI governance across the Global South through our practitioner network.
Join the CoalitionContact Us
For research collaborations, media enquiries, corrections requests, or general questions about Atlas AI Institute's work and mission.
Get in Touch10Frequently Asked Questions
About Atlas AI Institute: FAQ
What is Atlas AI Institute and who does it represent?
Atlas AI Institute is an independent, non-partisan AI governance and policy research organisation focused on the Global South and anchored in Bangladesh and South Asia. It does not represent any government, political party, corporation, or individual funder. Its role is to produce evidence, analysis, and practical research resources for policymakers, researchers, civil society, and other public-interest stakeholders.
How is Atlas AI Institute funded?
Atlas AI Institute is committed to publishing full funding disclosure once its operational funding arrangements are confirmed and verifiable. Our policy is to seek grants and project funding only where no editorial conditions are attached — meaning funders do not have the right to review, suppress, or modify research findings prior to publication.
Any funding accepted will be disclosed publicly, including the funder's identity, the amount received, and the scope of the funded work.
Is Atlas AI Institute affiliated with any government or university?
No. Atlas AI Institute is an independent research organisation and is not a division, department, or affiliated unit of a government ministry, regulatory body, or university. Any researcher affiliations relevant to individual publications should be disclosed on a per-author basis.
How can I cite or reuse Atlas AI Institute research?
Licensing terms are stated on individual publication pages. Where Creative Commons licensing applies, users may reuse the material according to the stated licence and attribution requirements.
For citation guidance, refer to the suggested citation format on each publication's page. If you wish to use our research in a commercial context, for training AI systems, or in ways not covered by the stated licence, please contact us before proceeding.
Understanding AI governance requires evidence, independence and sustained research.
Explore the work of Atlas AI Institute.