World leaders and prominent figures from leading artificial intelligence companies are convening in New Delhi this week for a significant AI summit. The India AI Impact Summit, taking place from February 16 to February 20, serves as a platform for policymakers, technology experts, and researchers to delve into discussions on AI governance, investments, and the societal implications of the technology. India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed the summit’s theme as “welfare for all, happiness for all,” emphasizing a dedication to progress centered around humanity.
Distinguished speakers at the event include Alphabet’s CEO Sundar Pichai, OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman, Anthropic’s CEO Dario Amodei, Google DeepMind’s CEO Demis Hassabis, and Reliance’s Chairman Mukesh Ambani. Notably, Modi is scheduled to appear alongside French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday, with Macron’s visit to India forming part of a bilateral tour, according to a Reuters report.
India is actively seeking AI investments, with major players like Google, Microsoft, and Amazon pledging a total of $68 billion towards AI and cloud infrastructure until 2030, as outlined in the same Reuters report. The country has emerged as OpenAI’s largest user market, boasting over 72 million daily ChatGPT users. Nevertheless, the swift adoption of AI poses a threat to jobs in India’s $283 billion IT sector, particularly impacting call centers and technical support positions, as reported by Reuters. The summit’s human capital working group has cautioned that automation could lead to the displacement of workforce segments and exacerbate socio-economic disparities.
This summit marks the fourth in a series of global AI conferences, following previous editions at Bletchley Park in the UK (2023), Seoul (2024), and Paris (2025). Prior summits primarily focused on safety commitments and governance declarations, with critics highlighting the limited enforceable outcomes. The current summit anticipates over 250,000 attendees and 300 exhibitors at the expansive 70,000-square-meter expo complex.
Conversations at the summit will also delve into addressing AI safety concerns, including measures to prevent real-world harm, as detailed in an AFP report. Recent incidents have underscored risks associated with AI, such as legal actions against OpenAI over allegations of chatbot involvement in suicides, and global concerns regarding AI tools capable of generating harmful deepfakes.