How Open Networks Are Re Architecting the Digital Future of the Global South

 

The world stands at an inflection point. Open networks are democratising commerce, and AI is poised to democratise intelligence. If these two forces learn to move in harmony, humanity has a genuine chance at a more equitable future. That was the spirit with which I opened the panel at the AI Summit, because the question before us is no longer whether technology will transform society, but who it will transform it for.

The Historical Warning We Cannot Ignore

Every major technological revolution has reshaped the world. The Industrial Revolution unlocked unprecedented productivity, new infrastructure, and innovations across defence, travel, textiles, and more. But it also carried a darker truth: the very technologies that enabled progress were weaponised by a few to conquer, colonise, and control many. The benefits were not shared; they were extracted.

Today’s digital revolution risks repeating that pattern. What began as a promise of openness, participation, and inclusion is drifting toward concentration, gatekeeping, and digital colonisation. The “digital continent” we are building could easily become another empire, unless we choose a different path.

India’s Answer: Digital Public Infrastructure

India chose that different path. We built Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) to reverse the trend and make the digital world genuinely democratic. Two principles define DPI:

• Unbundling -separating layers so innovation can flourish independently
• Interoperability - ensuring systems talk to each other, not lock users in

These principles have already reshaped payments through UPI and are now re‑architecting commerce through ONDC. Open networks do not replace markets; they redesign markets. They create common rails that:

• Lower entry barriers for small businesses
• Enable competition without fragmentation
• Allow innovation to happen at the edges, not only at the centre

In ONDC’s case, the goal was never to build another platform. It was to make commerce itself a shared public capability accessible to kirana stores, micro‑entrepreneurs, logistics providers, startups, and consumers alike.

The Internet of Transactions

We are entering a new phase of the internet—one that is not just a network of information but a network of transactions. This new architecture will be:

• Interoperable - connecting diverse actors across sectors and borders
• Inclusive - enabling participation without gatekeepers
• Iterative - evolving through feedback and experimentation
• Infrastructure‑led — built on public digital rails, not private silos

This is how we build choice without coercion, scale without centralisation, and innovation without inhibition.

Why This Matters for the Global South

For the Global South, the stakes are even higher. These nations face a dual challenge: massive scale and deep diversity on one side, and resource constraints on the other. The real questions are:

• Who benefits from scale?
• Who controls the ecosystem?
• Who gets left out?

Open networks emerged precisely to address this tension. They are not a technical alternative; they are a governance choice, a choice to separate infrastructure from innovation, protocols from platforms, and power from participation.

As ASEAN, Africa, and other regions explore open digital infrastructures, India’s experience offers a blueprint: open networks can shift the centre of gravity from a few dominant players to millions of participants.

When AI Meets Open Networks

AI can turbocharge open networks. It can:

• Expand market access for small merchants
• Improve discovery for consumers
• Enable smarter matching between buyers and sellers
• Strengthen trust through fraud detection and verification

But AI also introduces a new risk: concentration of power. If intelligence becomes centralised, we risk replacing platform monopolies with algorithmic monopolies.

The question is not whether AI should be used, it must be. The question is how.

In open systems, AI must be:

• Augmentative, not extractive
• Contestable, not monopolised
• Diversity‑enhancing, not concentration‑driven
• Accountable, not opaque

This requires careful choices about where intelligence resides, at the edge or only at the core, with users or only intermediaries, governed by rules or by defaults.

Open networks give us a chance to build AI‑enabled markets without creating AI‑driven monopolies. But this is only possible if governance evolves as fast as technology.

Governance: The Quiet Hero of Digital Transformation

Governance is the least glamorous part of digital transformation, but it is the most decisive. Open networks must answer foundational questions:

• Who sets and evolves the protocols?
• How are disputes resolved?
• How is compliance enforced without stifling innovation?
• How do we maintain neutrality as ecosystems scale?

As AI becomes embedded, governance must also address:

• Algorithmic accountability
• Data rights and consent
• Cross‑border interoperability
• Long‑term stewardship

These are not technical questions, they are institutional ones.

The Real Impact: Participation, Not Just Transactions

Open networks fundamentally change who gets to participate in the digital economy.

• Small merchants reduce dependence on a single platform
• Startups lower customer acquisition costs
• Consumers especially the marginalised, gain choice and transparency
• Economies become more competitive and resilient

In the Global South, where informality is high and trust is fragile, this is transformative. When layered responsibly, AI can amplify this impact, making services more accessible, markets more efficient, and systems more responsive to local needs.

But inclusion is never automatic. It must be designed, governed, and defended.

What Will Define Success

The success of open networks in the Global South will not be measured by transaction volumes or the sophistication of AI models. It will be defined by:

• Diversity of participants
• Resilience of governance
• Fair distribution of value
• Ability to innovate without concentration of power

This is difficult work, but it is essential work.

As we move into the panel discussion, we bring together perspectives from global finance, digital infrastructure, market ecosystems, and public policy. The goal is not just to share insights but to shape the collective learning that will guide the next decade of digital transformation.

“AI will amplify whatever architecture we build. If we build open networks, it will amplify inclusion. If we build silos, it will amplify concentration. The choice is ours—and it is urgent.”