Lessons From the Margins: Contextualizing, Reimagining, and Hacking Generative AI in the Global South

The impacts of Generative AI in regions of Africa, Asia, and Latin America -with their diverse historical and sociopolitical contexts-are often overshadowed by the hyped and universalizing promises of the technology. Global South regions are strategic sites within the global AI value chain grappling with issues of resource exploitation, digital labor outsourcing, and environmental impact. In seeking to overcome the dynamics of extraction, diverse counter-hegemonic responses are contributing to question, adapt and reimagine Gen AI technologies to service the public interest, fundamental rights, and cultural preservation. We draw lessons from how activists, practitioners and thinkers on the margins of AI development, actively assert their autonomy, inspiring a more equitable and culturally responsive digital landscape.