Writing for the Observer Research Foundation America, the U.S. ISO Delegate and Aspen Institute AI Leader warns that bilateral technology cooperation must immediately transition from diplomatic dialogues to joint operational capacity, digital public infrastructure integration, and unified regulatory frameworks.
Rohan Sharma, a U.S. Delegate to the ISO/IEC AI standards committee and 2025 Aspen Institute Civic AI Leader, has published a pivotal policy brief with the Observer Research Foundation America (ORF America) detailing the critical next phase of U.S.-India artificial intelligence cooperation. The analysis asserts that bilateral technology initiatives, including the U.S.-India Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET), must evolve beyond diplomatic agreements to establish interoperable technical standards and shared AI infrastructure. Drawing on his tenure overseeing enterprise-scale data governance at Fortune 500 institutions and his ongoing federal policy contributions, Sharma provides a concrete framework for reconciling Washington’s export-controlled hardware strategy with New Delhi’s sovereign digital public infrastructure (DPI).
The op-ed, titled “U.S.-India AI Cooperation Hinges on Standards and Infrastructure,” highlights a looming divergence between American and Indian approaches to artificial intelligence governance. While the United States relies heavily on multi-stakeholder, industry-led standards reinforced by targeted export controls, India is embedding algorithmic systems directly into its massive digital public infrastructure, which serves over a billion citizens. To bridge this gap, Sharma advocates for a hybrid governance model anchored by a jointly staffed U.S.-India AI Standards Council. This proposed body would harmonize frameworks between the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), streamlining cross-border compliance, enabling mutual recognition of AI certifications, and driving the implementation of international baselines such as ISO/IEC 42001.
“The geopolitical window for defining a unified, democratic approach to artificial intelligence is narrowing,” stated Rohan Sharma. “We have moved past the era of high-level signaling; the resilience of the U.S.-India technology partnership now depends entirely on our ability to co-develop physical compute corridors and harmonize technical standards. If Washington and New Delhi fail to operationalize these shared frameworks, we risk fracturing the global digital architecture and ceding the future of AI governance to adversarial paradigms.”
Beyond standardization, the analysis emphasizes the urgent need for joint AI infrastructure corridors. Sharma proposes bundling data centers, scalable cloud platforms, and advanced semiconductors with mutual procurement standards. This strategic integration is designed to facilitate cross-border research and high-risk system evaluation while preserving each nation’s strict data security imperatives. The recommendations directly support broader multilateral efforts, including Quad coordination and global supply chain resilience, offering a scalable blueprint for the Global South seeking secure, inclusion-oriented technology deployments without compromising sovereign independence.
“Ultimately, the effectiveness of bilateral technology diplomacy will be measured by deployability,” Rohan Sharma added. “By embedding shared safety baselines directly into the digital public infrastructure layer, the United States and India can forge a sovereign yet interoperable technological ecosystem that commands global trust.”
ABOUT ROHAN SHARMA
Rohan Sharma is a globally recognized authority on artificial intelligence governance, digital transformation, and enterprise risk, and a 2025 Aspen Institute Civic AI Leader. His work sits at the intersection of technology, public policy, and board-level decision-making, where he advises executives and institutions on the strategic, regulatory, and capital implications of advanced AI systems. Mr. Sharma serves on the U.S. Technical Advisory Group to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), contributing to the development of global AI safety and quality standards, and leads the Law Sub-committee of the ACM Technology Policy Committee, shaping legal and governance perspectives on emerging technologies.
He is an Agenda Contributor to the World Economic Forum, an advisor to Stanford Seed, and has previously held senior leadership roles driving AI-enabled transformation at Apple, Disney, and Fortune 100 enterprises. An author and public intellectual, Mr. Sharma wrote the Springer-published AI & the Boardroom, a widely cited text on AI governance and executive oversight that has been referenced by NATO, Google DeepMind, and peer-reviewed academic journals including Nature and Emerald. He is also the author of Minds of Machines and a frequent speaker at global C-suite forums, including TEDx Yale and The Atlantic CEO Summit.
Mr. Sharma serves as a a strategic advisor to UCLA Anderson, and a mentor with Techstars. He resides in California with his family.
MEDIA CONTACT
Name: Rohan Sharma
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Website: http://www.rohansharma.net