AI Impact Summit in Delhi
The AI Impact Summit in Delhi marks a significant shift in the global discourse on artificial intelligence (AI). Unlike previous summits in Bletchley Park, Seoul, and Paris, which focused on safety, guardrails, and inclusiveness, Delhi's summit emphasizes the rapid and widespread adoption of AI, particularly in the developing world, guided by voluntary commitments rather than binding rules.
Geopolitical Context
- The voluntary commitments reflect the geopolitical contest among the United States, China, and Russia, which complicates global rule-making.
- India and the US share an understanding that AI's disruptive power should be harnessed, not restrained.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump believe in deploying AI ambitiously to secure their countries' positions in the global tech hierarchy.
US AI Policy
Trump's administration shifted US AI policy by overturning Biden's regulations and issuing an executive order to promote American leadership in AI. The "Winning the AI Race" action plan outlines 90 policy steps to boost innovation and AI system exports.
India's AI Strategy
- Modi's strategy is anchored in three elements:
- India's vast talent pool.
- Indian capital's capacity to invest at scale, demonstrated by major commitments from companies like Ambani, Adani, and Tata.
- A deepening partnership with the US and its tech giants.
- Modi aims to position India as a central player in global AI discourse and accelerate its technological transformation.
Indo-US Technology Collaborations
Modi's engagement with US tech CEOs has fostered concrete partnerships, such as Google's AI investments in India and collaborations involving Tata with OpenAI, L&T with Nvidia, and Infosys with Anthropic.
Geopolitical Implications
- The US invites India into the Pax Silica Initiative to reduce reliance on Chinese semiconductor supply chains, highlighting India's role in shaping the AI world's geopolitical architecture.
- India's AI strategy reflects the historical insight that latecomers to tech revolutions can succeed by acting boldly, as seen with Japan in electronics and China in manufacturing.
By energizing innovators, encouraging domestic capital, and partnering with US giants, India positions itself as a key player in the global AI order.
