⚖ Atlas AI Institute · Global South AI Policy Research Institute · Director: Nafiul Ahmad Rafi
About the Institute
Advancing AI Governance
for the Global South
Atlas AI Institute is an independent AI policy research institution dedicated to building equitable, inclusive, and evidence-based AI governance frameworks for LDC and developing countries worldwide.
🌍 Our Mission
Bridging the Global AI Governance Gap
The global AI governance landscape is dominated by frameworks designed for high-income economies — the EU AI Act, NIST RMF, OECD Principles — with little accommodation for the institutional, technical, and economic realities of Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and the Global South.
Atlas AI Institute was founded to change that. We provide cutting-edge policy analysis tools, research, and capacity-building resources specifically designed to empower developing nations to build sovereign, context-sensitive AI governance systems that meet global standards without sacrificing local priorities.
38+Countries Analyzed
4Global Frameworks
160+JSON Policy Files
Our Core Principles
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Equity-First Governance
AI policy must serve all populations, including the most marginalized.
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Evidence-Based Analysis
Every recommendation is grounded in peer-reviewed research and global standards.
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Sovereignty & Context
Countries deserve AI policies adapted to their unique contexts, not copy-pasted from the Global North.
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Open Access Research
Our tools and findings are freely available to policymakers, researchers, and civil society.
Founder & Director
The visionary behind Atlas AI Institute's mission and methodology.
Nafiul Ahmad Rafi
Founder & Director · AI Governance Researcher
Nafiul Ahmad Rafi is an AI governance researcher and policy strategist specializing in the intersection of emerging technologies and development economics across the Global South. With an analytical framework spanning 38 countries, Nafiul has developed one of the most comprehensive comparative AI policy databases in the field, housed in the AI Central Brain JSON repository.
His work focuses on how Least Developed Countries (LDCs) can build sovereign AI governance systems that meet international standards (OECD, UNESCO, EU AI Act, NIST RMF) while addressing their unique institutional capacities, resource constraints, and socioeconomic priorities. He is particularly concerned with preventing "regulatory colonialism" — the uncritical transplantation of high-income country AI governance models onto vastly different developmental contexts.
Nafiul founded Atlas AI Institute to operationalize this research into practical, open-access tools that any country — regardless of technical capacity — can use to assess, benchmark, and improve their national AI policy.
AI Governance
Global South Policy
LDC Development
OECD Frameworks
EU AI Act
NIST RMF
Regulatory Policy
38-Country Analysis
Civic Technology
What We Do
Atlas AI Institute operates across four interconnected research and practice domains.
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Policy Benchmarking & Analysis
We benchmark national AI policies against the world's leading governance frameworks — OECD, UNESCO, EU AI Act, and NIST RMF — using a systematic 6-pillar methodology covering transparency, risk, human oversight, safety, socioeconomic well-being, and innovation.
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LDC & Developing Economy Research
We conduct in-depth research on AI governance challenges unique to Least Developed Countries — including digital infrastructure gaps, limited regulatory capacity, data sovereignty concerns, and the risk of regulatory colonialism from Global North frameworks.
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Open-Access Policy Tools
We build professional, open-access tools like this Policy Analyzer that allow any government official, researcher, or civil society actor to conduct institutional-grade AI policy assessments — free of charge, with full transparency.
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Capacity Building & Education
We produce research guides, policy templates, and educational resources to help developing country governments build their own AI governance expertise and institutional infrastructure from the ground up.
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Comparative Policy Intelligence
Our AI Central Brain JSON repository — 160+ files covering global AI policies, readiness indices, company policies, and framework updates — forms the world's most comprehensive structured AI policy knowledge base accessible by any tool.
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International Standards Advocacy
We advocate for Global South representation in international AI standard-setting bodies — G7, G20, OECD, UNESCO — ensuring that the next generation of AI governance frameworks reflects the diversity of the global community.
Countries in Our Policy Database
🇪🇺 European Union🇺🇸 United States🇬🇧 United Kingdom🇸🇬 Singapore🇨🇳 China🇯🇵 Japan🇰🇷 South Korea🇨🇦 Canada🇩🇪 Germany🇮🇱 Israel🇮🇳 India🇧🇩 Bangladesh🇵🇰 Pakistan🇳🇬 Nigeria🇰🇪 Kenya🇦🇪 UAE🇧🇷 Brazil🇫🇷 France+ 20 more
Reference Frameworks
Our analysis is anchored in four internationally recognized AI governance frameworks.
🔵 OECD AI Principles 2024
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's core AI principles covering transparency, accountability, human-centricity, safety, and R&D investment. Adopted by 42+ countries.
🟡 UNESCO Recommendation on AI Ethics 2021
UNESCO's landmark global standard addressing AI ethics, human rights, transparency, oversight, and socioeconomic inclusion. The first global normative instrument on AI ethics.
🟢 EU AI Act 2024
The world's first comprehensive AI regulation, establishing a risk-based framework with strict requirements for high-risk AI systems, transparency, human oversight, and conformity assessment.
🔴 NIST AI RMF 1.0
The US National Institute of Standards and Technology's AI Risk Management Framework, providing a structured approach to managing AI risks across GOVERN, MAP, MEASURE, and MANAGE functions.
Analyze Your Country's AI Policy
Use our free, professional-grade benchmarking tool to receive an institutional analysis of your national AI strategy — with detailed visualizations, gap analysis, and reform recommendations.