India aims to restart AI debate with first Global South Summit India News

NEW DELHI: Artificial intelligence, unimaginable just a few years ago as a shiny experiment — with impressive demos, niche tools and a buzzword that rarely touched daily life — is now central to creating jobs, delivering services, conducting science and governing society. As the world grapples with its promises and risks, India is taking on a new role not just as a user of artificial intelligence but as a global agenda-setter, becoming the first developing country and global South country to convene a global summit on artificial intelligence.India is trying to pull the global AI debate out of elite labs and corporate boardrooms and root it in people, inclusivity and real-world outcomes, Abhishek Singh, CEO of India’s AI Mission and AI Impact Summit, told The Times of India in an exclusive interview.“This is the first time a summit of this kind and scale is being held in a country in the southern hemisphere,” said Singh, adding, “Today’s artificial intelligence is mainly controlled by a few countries and a few companies. India hopes to bring in the perspective of countries in the southern hemisphere to ensure that artificial intelligence is more inclusive and democratized.”Singh said India’s rationale for hosting the summit was based on experience rather than theory. Over the past decade, platforms such as Aadhaar, UPI, DigiLocker and telemedicine have demonstrated how digital systems can operate at a population scale, serving hundreds of millions of people.“India has demonstrated its ability to apply technology to public services. We want to demonstrate India’s capabilities in building AI applications at a population scale and become a voice for countries in the global South,” Singh said.The summit comes as governments around the world struggle to balance rapid AI innovation with growing concerns about deepfakes, misinformation, bias and abuse. While there is widespread agreement that AI should drive economic growth and social good, Singh said translating principles into practice remains uneven.“Every country agrees on two things: AI must be used for greater social good; and the harm of AI must be limited,” he said. “But countries have very different levels of technological development. This is where regulatory capabilities and shared frameworks become important.” He explained that India’s approach is based on a so-called “techno-legal framework” that combines legal safeguards with technological tools. Legal provisions require the removal of harmful content within a set period of time and mandate the labeling of AI-generated content, particularly if it poses a risk to individuals, public order or national security. Beyond this, India is developing tools to detect deepfakes, reduce bias and create ethical AI authentication systems.A major focus of the summit was human capital. As automation reshapes jobs and threatens traditional livelihoods, the summit aims to promote global cooperation on reskilling and transforming the workforce, especially for developing economies facing resource constraints.“Artificial intelligence should not be developed only in technology centers,” said Singh. “We are setting up data labs across the country, establishing centers of excellence in states and smaller cities, and launching large-scale skills and training programs so that AI reaches tier-2 and tier-3 cities.” Inclusion is another central theme, with India highlighting the role of Indian languages ​​and voice-based AI systems in widening access. The platform built on natural language processing and generative artificial intelligence allows people to access services in their own language, especially those who are uncomfortable with English.The summit agenda also covers AI-powered scientific research in healthcare, agriculture and climate, while promoting openness, reproducibility and shared standards.