AI Summit: Is Modi serving interests of human society and India?

Is Modi promoting the interests of humanity and the nation? The claims made at the AI Impact Summit 2026 by India only show the Modi regime's inability to comprehend the real threats posed by the fast-changing world of technology and innovation.

AI is set to dismantle the dominance of mankind in deciding the future of the world. The immediate threat to India would be to its IT sector, which currently gives the most remunerative employment to many youths of the country.

A large section of them is going to lose their jobs. Only a small percentage of them can stay, but only after high upskilling. Modi’s speech exhibits ignorance towards the problem:

“Decades ago, when the internet began, no one imagined how many jobs it would create. The same is true for AI. Today, it is difficult to predict what kinds of jobs will emerge in this field.

The future of work is not pre-defined; it will depend on our decisions and our course of action. I believe the future of work is a new opportunity. This is the era of humans and intelligent systems working together.”

“We are entering an era where humans and intelligent systems co-create, co-work, and co-evolve. AI will make our work smarter, more efficient, and more impactful. We will design better, build faster, and make stronger decisions.

More people will find higher-value, creative, and meaningful roles. This is a great opportunity for innovation, entrepreneurship, and new industries. Therefore, skilling, reskilling, and lifelong learning must become a mass movement.”

Do these assertions not display a deliberate attempt to disregard the real problem?

“India is not just a part of the AI revolution, but is leading and shaping it,” Modi claims.

“India is building a resilient ecosystem – from semiconductors and chip-making to quantum computing,” says Modi. Do his claims not require scrutiny?

We do know the state of semiconductor research and chip-building capacity in India. We also know that the IT engineers only contribute to the applications part of the global IT network. We cannot compete with the USA and China.

Modi claims that secure data centres, a strong IT backbone, and a dynamic startup ecosystem make India a natural hub for affordable, scalable, and secure AI solutions. But this is only a partial truth. Most of the innovations are coming from abroad.

India has not produced any search engine or AI application. It has only emerged as the largest group of users or executors in the entire journey of IT revolution.

The country has a vast human resource, but it has always been averse to research and innovation. Whatever we had achieved through IITs and national laboratories has been lost in the past decade of misplaced priorities.

However, the invitation the Prime Minister extends to the big capital shows his real intention.

“India has diversity, demography, and democracy. Any AI model that succeeds in India can be deployed globally. Therefore, I invite all of you: Design and Develop in India. Deliver to the World. Deliver to Humanity.

Once again, I extend my warmest wishes to all of you,” he appeals. Is it not an extension of his slogan Make in India? The slogan only marks the transition from India’s ambition of a manufacturing country to a country of labour camps working for remote masters.

The earlier slogan -Made in India- aligned with the ambition. The twist was only a compulsion, or a choice remains unknown. But the outcome we know. The appeal of Make in India could not attract many companies.

Rahul Gandhi’s following remarks does make some sense,”

"Instead of leveraging India's talent and data, the AI summit is a disorganised PR spectacle - Indian data up for sale, Chinese products showcased.”

Rahul seems to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the IT revolution in India. However, it does not exonerate the Manmoahan Singh government. It failed to remove the weaknesses of the sector. It ignored the hardware development.

The allegation of summit was a PR spectacle is not without basis. The Prime Minister tried to portray that the summit was first of its kind. He did not emphasise that the Summit in Delhi was part of the exercise initiated by the United Kingdom in 2023.

He had co-chaired the third summit in 2025 in Paris. The first UK summit was a pioneering step in AI diplomacy. It helped in forging an alliance of developed countries in favor of AI. It pushed aside questions such as humans versus robots.

The ethical questions were sidelined, and safety became the core issue. The second summit in 2024 in Seoul was an extension of the first summit, and it focused on implementation. Many safety institutes came into existence.

The Paris summit focused on inclusion and diversity. It also tried to address ethical questions and wanted AI to be human-centric. The Delhi summit combines the concerns expressed in the earlier three summits, but fails to add any new dimension.

The Indian freedom struggle had humanity at its core. When it came to choosing between man and machine, it stood against the machine. Gandhi never wavered. The Prime Minister’s referring to the Global South also sounds ornamental.

The AI is set to become a new tool for colonising the world. The AI Impact Summit has only expressed the Modi regime’s determination to play the role of a collaborator. AI will change the world of capitalism. It will exploit resources without seeking any help from the workers.

In pursuing wealth, the rich countries are hardly feeling shy in exposing humanity to unprecedented servitude to machines. India has the responsibility to lead the opposition to it. It should join hands with those who are opposing the AI-led transformation of human civilization.

They say that AI will surpass human intelligence and control the planet. AI has no compassion and may decide to destroy humans. Should we be part of the possible destruction of human civilisation?

(The author is a senior journalist. He has experience of working with leading newspapers and electronic media including Deccan Herald, Sunday Guardian, Navbharat Times and Dainik Bhaskar. He writes on politics, society, environment and economy)