CGI Puts AI on Trial: Data Sovereignty, Medical Breakthroughs, and the Fight for Who Controls the Future

The Clinton Global Initiative convened during United Nations General Assembly week to confront a defining question: who actually governs artificial intelligence, and who gets left behind? Across keynotes, commitments, and panels featuring Governor Wes Moore, Amini CEO Kate Callett, and Chelsea Clinton, a recurring tension emerged — AI is already saving lives and creating opportunity, but its benefits are concentrating in wealthy nations while the Global South faces a new era of resource extraction.

• Amini CEO warns Africa has less than 1% of global compute power despite 19% of the world's population, risking a new cycle of data extraction
• Governor Moore details Maryland's AI governance framework — from 750,000 kids receiving SNAP benefits to a first-in-nation service year program
• First drug discovered by generative AI enters Phase 3 trial as Chiani Foundation calls for faster lab-to-clinic pipeline
• Three new CGI commitments deploy AI to fight Spanish-language misinformation, train displaced students, and connect 300,000 women with mentors
• Ten major foundations form consortium to ensure humanity has a voice in shaping AI's direction

Kate Callett, CEO of Amini, left NVIDIA and moved from New York to Nairobi to build what she calls sovereign data infrastructure for Africa and the Global South. Her message was blunt: without local compute power, AI will replicate centuries-old patterns of extraction.