New Delhi: Conversations on the future of artificial intelligence gathered momentum at the India AI Impact Summit 2026, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and global industry leaders outlined priorities spanning ethics, trust, sovereignty and large-scale deployment.
Addressing the Leaders’ Plenary Session at Bharat Mandapam, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the summit would help shape a “human-centric and sensitive global AI ecosystem.” Drawing on Lord Buddha’s teaching that “Right Action comes from Right Understanding,” he emphasised the need for timely and well-intentioned decisions to maximise AI’s positive impact.
Reflecting on lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic, Modi highlighted how collaboration and digital platforms helped deliver solutions at scale. He noted that India’s digital public infrastructure — including UPI and the CoWIN vaccination platform — demonstrated how technology can serve society. Stressing that technology should empower rather than dominate, he said AI must remain accessible to all, with Global South priorities at the centre of governance.
Warning that AI expands the scope of unethical use, the Prime Minister said ethical norms “must also be unlimited,” urging companies to align profit with purpose. He proposed three principles for responsible AI: respecting data sovereignty within a trusted global data framework; adopting transparent “glass box” safety rules instead of opaque systems; and embedding human values in AI design. “AI is a shared resource for the welfare of humanity,” he said.
Modi also pointed to India’s capacity-building initiatives, stating that 38,000 GPUs are already available under the India AI Mission, with 24,000 more to be added in the next six months. He added that AIKosh, the national dataset platform, has made more than 7,500 datasets and 270 AI models available as national resources, while startups are being provided world-class computing power at affordable rates.
In parallel keynote sessions, global CEOs shared perspectives on AI’s next phase.
Arthur Mensch, CEO and Co-founder of Mistral AI, advocated decentralisation and open innovation. “AI should be a tool for empowerment, not for dominance,” he said, cautioning against concentration of power among a few corporations, according to an official release from the Ministry of Electronics & IT.
Rajesh Subramaniam, CEO of FedEx, described AI as “foundational infrastructure” for the next industrial era, particularly in global supply chains. He said intelligence would increasingly drive resilience, prediction and optimisation across modern commerce.
Jeet Adani, Director of Adani Digital Labs, underscored the link between energy and AI capability. “If a nation’s energy systems are fragile, its intelligence systems are fragile,” he remarked, outlining investments in green and sovereign AI infrastructure.
Vinod Khosla, Founder of Khosla Ventures, emphasised inclusion, stating that AI’s real impact would be visible only when it benefits the bottom half of India’s population through applications such as AI tutors, AI doctors and AI-driven agricultural services.
Technology leaders also highlighted trust, governance and scalable adoption.
Nikesh Arora, CEO of Palo Alto Networks, said AI innovation is advancing faster than institutional readiness. “The real question is whether we can build trust as fast as we build capability,” he noted, stressing that governance and security must be foundational.
Roshni Nadar, Chairperson of HCLTech, called for a shift from services to intellectual property. “India must move from being a services powerhouse to becoming an IP powerhouse,” she said.
Lars Reger, CTO of NXP Semiconductors, highlighted the importance of edge intelligence embedded in devices, vehicles and infrastructure, while Amit Zavery of ServiceNow stressed that governance, visibility and security must be built directly into enterprise AI platforms.
Alexander Wang, Chief AI Officer at Meta, spoke of “personal superintelligence,” saying trust, transparency and governance must evolve alongside AI models. Roy Jakobs, CEO of Philips, described healthcare as a domain where AI could transform lives by giving clinicians more time to care. Martin Schroeter, CEO of Kyndryl, emphasised readiness of infrastructure and operations, and Olivier Blum, CEO of Schneider Electric, pointed to AI’s dual role in driving energy demand while unlocking efficiency gains.
Across sessions, leaders converged on a shared theme: AI’s future will depend not only on technological breakthroughs, but on ethics, transparency, resilience and equitable deployment at scale.
