New Delhi: India will host the next global summit on artificial intelligence (AI) after co-hosting discussions at third edition of the AI Action Summit on February 10 and 11 in Paris with France, President Emmanuel Macron’s office said on Tuesday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who co-chaired the AI Action Summit with French President Emmanuel Macron February 10-11, had earlier told attendees in Paris’s opulent Grand Palais that India would “be happy to host the next AI summit” on its territory later this year.
This was later confirmed by Secretary of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) S Krishnan. “The next AI summit will be hosted in India later this year. The emphasis has been on innovation-driven AI…India’s policy position on AI has been on the possibility of innovation and the possibility that it offers greater productivity and opportunity while being cognisant of possible harms and what can be done to mitigate them…,” he told on the sidelines of the summit.
He further stated that endorsed the leaders’ statement on inclusive and sustainable AI and given a commitment to AI for the public interest which were the two major outcomes of this summit. “..India has supported the establishment of the AI foundation…India has also joined the coalition on sustainable AI ensuring AI’s alignment with environmental and sustainable development goals…,” he added.
Earlier in the inaugural address, Modi stressed the need for AI governance, tapping its potential and skilling and reskilling people “to ensure that AI future is for good and for all.” “We are at the dawn of the AI age that will shape the course of humanity. Some people worry about machines becoming superior in intelligence to humans. But no one holds the key to our collective future and shared destiny other than us humans,” he said, while calling for global efforts to establish governance frameworks.
He emphasised on democratisation of AI access for developing countries and highlighted AI’s transformative potential in governance, economy, and education, while warning of risks like deepfakes and cybersecurity threats.
PM Modi also allayed fears about job losses due to AI. “Loss of jobs is AI’s most feared disruption. But history has shown that work does not disappear due to technology. Its nature changes, and new types of jobs are created. We need to invest in skilling and reskilling our people for an AI-driven future,” he said.
Modi concluded his address by talking about India’s success in building digital public infrastructure for over 1.4 billion people at a very low cost. “We also have a unique public-private partnership model for pooling resources like computing power. It is made available to our startups and researchers at an affordable cost. India is ready to share its experience and expertise to ensure that the AI future is for good and for all,” he added.
US Vice President JD Vance endorsed Modi’s perspective that AI will enhance human productivity rather than replace humans and jobs.
The United States and the UK, however, did not sign the Paris AI Summit’s declaration, ‘Statement on Inclusive and Sustainable Artificial Intelligence’.
The communique states among priorities that “ensuring AI is open, inclusive, transparent, ethical, safe, secure and trustworthy, taking into account international frameworks for all” and “making AI sustainable for people and the planet.”
India, on the other hand, said that it is also committed to using AI in the public interest and its approach will not be influenced by the global AI ‘race’.
