By Manoranjana Gupta
India is preparing to host the largest artificial intelligence summit in the Global South — an unmistakable civilisational moment where technology, ethics and statecraft converge. Yet for this gathering to shift global power equations and deliver meaningful impact for 1.4 billion people, the country must confront the uncomfortable questions embedded within its own grand narrative.
India’s Big AI Moment — and the Responsibility It Carries
In February 2026, when world leaders, technologists, regulators and industry giants assemble at Bharat Mandapam for the India–AI Impact Summit, New Delhi will attempt something no other Global South nation has done: offer not just technological capacity, but a moral and philosophical framework for the AI age. The government’s announcement signals extraordinary confidence. By framing the summit around the idea of “People, Planet and Progress,” India is positioning AI as a tool of social upliftment, civilisational responsibility and sustainable growth — an approach explicitly grounded in inclusion, equity and ecological restraint. The seven thematic “Chakras” built into the Summit’s architecture reinforce this philosophy by emphasising human capital, social empowerment, trusted governance, resilience, scientific advancement and the democratisation of AI infrastructure. In essence, India seeks to present AI not as a privilege for the powerful, but as a public good for all.
But ambition alone is never enough. Civilisational claims invite civilisational accountability. If India wants to place itself at the centre of a new global AI ethics, then India must also be willing to interrogate itself — fearlessly and publicly — before the world arrives in February.
A Civilisational Promise That Demands Civilisational Scrutiny
India’s pitch to the world is seductive in its simplicity: while Western nations drown in abstract debates about AI safety, and China deploys AI through a centralised model that many fear, India offers a third way — a democratic, plural, deeply human approach rooted in its philosophical tradition of dharma and lok-kalyan. This, India says, is not just another technological summit. It is a statement of identity: a declaration that the world’s most diverse, multilingual and populous democracy can steward AI with compassion and restraint.
This claim deserves admiration — but also interrogation. If India aspires to become the world’s AI conscience, then it must demonstrate that its commitment to ethics is not ornamental, but operational. The nation cannot preach transparency, fairness and accountability on a global stage while avoiding difficult questions at home. Dharma is only meaningful when the mirror is turned inward.
The Questions India Cannot Afford to Ignore
The most urgent question concerns transparency. India speaks eloquently about Safe and Trusted AI, yet trust cannot exist without independent scrutiny. Will AI systems used in governance be open to audit? Will citizens have the right to understand decisions made by algorithms in welfare delivery, policing, lending or public administration? Will an independent authority — not merely a ministry or committee — be empowered to investigate AI harms? Without clear safeguards, the rhetoric of responsible AI risks collapsing into the vagueness of good intentions.
Equally pressing is the question of access. India wants AI to be a public good, yet compute — the true currency of the AI era — is expensive, scarce and heavily concentrated in the hands of global cloud providers and capital-rich corporations. If compute, data and model access become privileges for the technologically powerful, then India’s vision of inclusive AI will evaporate before it begins. Democratisation, in practice, requires policy muscle — not poetic declarations.
Language is another frontier India must confront honestly. For a civilisation with more than 460 living languages, the inclusion of Indian tongues in AI models is not a cosmetic demand but an existential one. If foundational models built in India primarily serve the dominant or commercially convenient languages, then millions will be pushed to the margins of the digital future. Linguistic justice is not merely a technical challenge; it is a cultural and political imperative.
Representation is the next test. If the Chakras are shaped primarily by bureaucrats, elite think-tanks, multinational corporations and well-funded startups, then India will have replicated precisely the elitism it claims to correct. For AI governance to reflect the soul of this nation, it must include communities that rarely enter summit halls: women’s collectives, farmer groups, disability rights advocates, teachers, ASHA workers, gig workers, youth from the Northeast, and citizens from remote tribal districts. Without these voices, the Summit will be a spectacle, not a social contract.
Sustainability adds another layer of complexity. India champions the idea that AI should protect the planet. But data centres demand enormous quantities of water and electricity; chips require heavy metals; GPUs amplify carbon footprints. Without enforceable environmental standards — renewable power mandates, water-use regulations, energy-efficient hardware requirements — India’s Planet Sutra risks becoming symbolic rather than structural.
And then there is labour. India is young, dynamic and aspirational — but also vulnerable. AI will reshape employment far more quickly than policymakers currently acknowledge. Routine services, low-end IT, back-office operations and gig-economy roles face the risk of displacement. Skilling, while essential, is not a safety net. India needs a long-term labour transition strategy: social protections, reskilling pathways, job-mobility frameworks and worker-centred AI governance. Without this, AI could push millions into insecurity.
The Opportunity — and the Warning
India has already shown the world that it can build digital systems with extraordinary impact: Aadhaar, UPI, CoWIN, the India Stack. These were public goods designed at population scale, grounded in the belief that technology must expand access, not restrict it. If India brings the same clarity and discipline to AI, the 2026 Summit could become a turning point not only for India but for the Global South.
But if the Summit becomes a stage without introspection, a celebration without substance, or a branding exercise without backbone, then India will have squandered a rare civilisational opportunity. To lead the world in “AI with Dharma,” India must prove — through action, policy and practice — that its values are not a slogan, but a standard.
The world is watching. The Global South is hopeful. And India must now decide whether it will rise to the moment with courage, humility and clarity — or simply host another conference.
Author Bio: Manoranjana Gupta is an Indian journalist, author, and media entrepreneur.
