India has a unique opportunity to shape the future of artificial intelligence as it co-chairs the AI Action Summit in Paris on February 10-11, 2025. This high-profile event, following similar discussions in the UK (2023) and South Korea (2024), will focus on AI safety, innovation, governance, and the ethical use of AI for the public good. By actively participating, India can strengthen its leadership in AI policy, advocate for equitable AI access, and ensure that the Global South’s perspective is heard in global AI governance discussions.
Championing AI for the Global South
The UK-hosted Bletchley Park AI Summit laid the foundation for discussions on frontier AI risks, while the Seoul Summit expanded collaboration on AI safety. India has consistently played a vital role in shaping these discussions and recently announced plans to establish its own AI Safety Institute.
As a leader in multilateral AI discussions, India has pushed for a pro-innovation regulatory approach under its G20 presidency. Additionally, India’s Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI) summit in 2023 highlighted the need for equitable access to AI resources, reinforcing its commitment to AI development for emerging economies.
India’s Key Strategic Priorities in Paris
To maximize its impact, India should focus on three major objectives at the AI Action Summit:
1. Democratizing AI Access
- India must advocate for equal access to AI infrastructure, including computing resources, datasets, cloud platforms, and foundational AI models.
- The country’s initiative to build an AI computing facility with 18,600 GPUs and a 40% government subsidy is a strong model, but the vision must expand globally.
- Open-source AI models, such as DeepSeek, highlight the potential of open innovation. India should push for relaxed export controls on AI technologies to foster cross-border collaboration.
2. Prioritizing AI Use-Cases for the Global South
- AI must address real-world challenges, not just theoretical problems. India should propose a framework to identify AI solutions tailored to the needs of emerging economies.
- Key sectors include:
- Healthcare: AI-powered early disease detection for resource-limited areas.
- Education: Adaptive learning models for multilingual and diverse education systems.
- Agriculture: AI-driven tools to improve farming productivity in developing nations.
- Establishing a Global South AI repository would help countries track progress and share best practices.
3. Contextualizing AI Safety & Risks
- AI risks differ between the Global North and South. For example, large language models trained on Western data could contribute to cultural erosion in developing nations.
- India must call for collecting AI harm evidence specific to the Global South, ensuring risk assessment frameworks are inclusive.
- Insights from the International Scientific Report on AI Safety emphasize that AI risks should be evaluated based on both probability and severity—making data-driven policymaking essential.
Positioning India as a Global AI Leader
By driving these strategic initiatives, India can not only solidify its AI leadership but also emerge as a strong contender to host the next AI Action Summit. This would further position India as the bridge between AI superpowers and developing nations, ensuring the Global South remains at the forefront of AI policymaking.
