New Delhi, India – Starting on February 16, New Delhi will host an international summit on artificial intelligence at a key moment for the Asian giant's technological ambition. The country seeks to position itself as a central player in the development of AI in a context marked by global competition between the United States and China. But beyond the “race for AI” narrative, fundamental questions arise: why India? Does it really have the structural conditions to become a powerhouse in artificial intelligence? And, above all, who will benefit from this technological boost? We analyze it from New Delhi.

First modification: 02/16/2026 - 14:14 Last modification: 02/16/2026 - 14:19

India has some obvious advantages: one of the largest populations in the world, a consolidated technology sector in digital services, a broad base of engineers and an expanding public digital infrastructure.

The Government has promoted initiatives to strengthen the innovation ecosystem and attract investments in strategic sectors, including artificial intelligence.

However, for Professor Nishant Shah, a specialist in emerging technologies and professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, the question is not just whether India can insert itself into the global AI chain, but where it will do so.

“Artificial intelligence is a planetary ecosystem that ranges from strategic minerals to space communications infrastructure,” he explains.

"The challenge is where we position ourselves. If India repeats the strategy of becoming an intermediary that provides resources, human, intellectual and environmental, for the innovation and profits of others, it will remain a service provider without direction of its own."

India has historically been a key player in the outsourcing and processing of digital services, but has not managed to consolidate its own technological platforms with a global scale comparable to those of China or the United States.

According to Shah, the development of AI seems to follow a similar pattern: adoption, localization and adaptation of existing models rather than structural innovation of its own.

Growth vs. inclusion

The official discourse usually emphasizes economic growth, attracting investments and generating qualified employment.

But if the priority is scale and rapid expansion, some experts warn, the risk is leaving the question of ownership and control on the back burner.

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“The biggest challenge is not inclusion but ownership,” says Shah. “If India presents itself as a ‘Make in India’ hub without actually owning what is produced, we may end up included in technologies we serve and build, but without sovereignty over them.”

The difference is not minor. Without control over data, models and platforms, India could be trapped in a subordinate position within the global AI value chain, even if it is actively involved in its production.

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The impact on vulnerable communities

Beyond the technology industry, the expansion of AI has direct effects on vulnerable communities and historically marginalized sectors.

Shah proposes a provocative distinction: “There are people who make technology and people to whom technology happens.”

The so-called “excluded” are not really outside the technological ecosystem. They participate, often without consent or benefits, in the conversion of land for data centers, in the mining of minerals necessary for digital infrastructures, in the management of electronic waste or in precarious work linked to digital platforms.

In a country with deep social inequalities, where factors such as caste, territory and educational level determine opportunities, the promise of AI as an engine of progress raises questions about who will bear the environmental, labor and social costs of this transformation.

An alternative model?

Faced with the narrative of global competition, Shah raises the need to abandon the logic of the “race for AI” and think in terms of regional cooperation.

“India alone does not have all the resources to develop complete AI systems on a large scale,” he says. Instead of competing head-on with the great powers, it proposes exploring an “AI cooperative” model together with other countries in South and Southeast Asia, which distributes resources and capabilities to develop technologies adapted to local contexts.

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The idea points to a redefinition of leadership, not as technological domination, but as the articulation of alliances that prioritize education, agriculture, health and climate, sectors where the application of AI could have significant social impacts.

The summit as a turning point

The summit in New Delhi will be an opportunity to observe whether the official debate incorporates these dimensions or focuses exclusively on investment, infrastructure and competitiveness.

For India, the challenge is not only to become a visible player on the global map of artificial intelligence, but to define what type of technological power it wants to be: a service platform for others or an ecosystem with its own capacity, aimed at more inclusive development.

The result of this definition will mark not only its position in the digital economy, but also the social impact of artificial intelligence in one of the most populated and unequal countries on the planet.

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