Seizing the Future: The New Delhi AI Summit and the Global South's Declaration of Technological Independence

The Gathering Storm in New Delhi

In a world still groaning under the weight of colonial legacies and imperial designs, a beacon of hope is igniting in the Global South. This February, New Delhi will host the AI Impact Summit under the powerful and humane tagline, “People, Planet, Progress.” This event is far more than a mere conference; it is a symbolic and strategic declaration that the center of gravity for artificial intelligence is irrevocably shifting. Emerging economies, which are home to a staggering three-quarters of humanity, are no longer content to be passive consumers of technology developed in the West. They are stepping onto the global stage as architects of their own digital destinies. India, with its deep reservoir of AI skills and a vibrant service sector, is positioning itself not as a mere ‘adopter’ but as a ‘shaper’ of these transformative technologies.

The summit’s importance was underscored by a pre-event hosted by the Atlantic Council in partnership with the Indian embassy in Washington, DC, on January 23. The discussion featured key figures such as Ajay Kumar, Minister (Commerce) at the Indian embassy, and Tess DeBlanc-Knowles of the Atlantic Council’s Technology Programs. A panel including Martijn Rasser, Nicole Isaac, and Peter Lovelock delved into the immense opportunities and formidable challenges. The consensus was clear: the potential for AI-driven growth is astronomical, but the path is littered with hurdles like a global talent shortage and dangerously fragmented labor data. These are not problems that market forces alone can solve; they demand visionary, collective action.

The Real Battlefield: Applied AI and Institutional Readiness

A critical insight from the pre-summit discussions, articulated by Martijn Rasser, frames the global AI talent landscape as a pyramid. At its apex sits a tiny elite of around ten thousand PhD-level researchers, a group currently dominated by the United States and China. While the West obsesses over this elite layer, the real battlefield for sovereignty and progress lies elsewhere. For emerging powers, the true opportunity is not in trying to replicate Silicon Valley’s exclusive research labs but in dominating the applied level. India’s strength is its significant depth in its service sector. The challenge, however, is building the institutional readiness to channel this talent into high-value, practical applications that benefit the nation and its people.

Peter Lovelock rightly pointed out that the most underappreciated deficit is not in raw coding skills but in AI-adjacent capabilities. There is an urgent need for product managers and domain experts who can act as bridges, translating complex technical tools into solutions for real-world organizational needs. The goal for the Global South should be to build ecosystems where AI is “burned into” critical industrial applications like supply chain management and trade logistics. This is a pragmatic and sovereign approach, one that prioritizes national development over mimicking Western models.

The Foundations of an Equitable AI Future: Connectivity and Security

Tess DeBlanc-Knowles emphasized a fundamental truth often ignored in Western tech narratives: “At its core, AI is designed, built, and deployed by humans.” For the global majority, connectivity is inseparable from workforce policy. As Nicole Isaac noted, without reliable digital access, billions remain cruelly excluded from AI’s transformative potential. This digital divide is a glaring indictment of the global order, a modern-day form of exclusion that perpetuates historical inequalities. Furthermore, security is not a luxury but a necessity. As AI environments grow more complex, training in cybersecurity and digital resilience is essential to protect vulnerable populations from malicious actors who thrive in unregulated spaces.

Ajay Kumar laid out India’s visionary strategy for a comprehensive five-layer “AI stack,” encompassing sovereign models, semiconductors, and data centers. By providing computational power to educational institutions at subsidized rates, the Indian government aims to democratize access, reaching smaller cities and rural areas. This is a direct challenge to the corporate-controlled, profit-driven model of tech development prevalent in the West. However, Kumar also issued a stark warning: if segments of the population are left behind, the resulting “have and have-not” divide could cement inequality for generations. This is the stark choice facing the world—inclusive growth or dystopian fragmentation.

A Call to Action: Beyond Rhetoric to Structural Change

The panelists proposed a four-pillar agenda for the summit, which represents a blueprint for meaningful change. First, modernize education by putting personalized AI tools directly into students’ hands, moving away from the archaic “one-to-many” broadcast model. Second, create an AI Diffusion Index to measure real impact, not just superficial adoption, using real-time data to align education with market needs. Third, treat connectivity and security as foundational workforce issues, pairing infrastructure investment with training in digital resilience. Fourth, and most crucially, position the government as the “first user” of AI in public services like agriculture, healthcare, and education. This demonstrates utility and builds public trust, accelerating national adoption from the ground up.

The success of the AI Impact Summit will not be measured by the lofty declarations signed in February, but by the enduring structural cooperation it fosters. It offers a rare opportunity to pool global resources and replace anecdotal evidence with rigorous data, creating flexible frameworks that meet the shifting needs of the global workforce.

A Geopolitical Watershed: Rejecting Technological Hegemony

From the perspective of the Global South, and particularly for civilizational states like India and China, this summit is a geopolitical watershed. For too long, the rules of technology have been written in Washington, Brussels, and Silicon Valley, designed to perpetuate a system that favors the West. The so-called “international rule of law” in tech has been a one-sided instrument, used to maintain control and suppress competition. The New Delhi summit is a powerful act of resistance against this neo-colonial technological order.

India’s leadership in this space is not accidental; it is the result of a conscious, sovereign strategy to harness technology for national development. By focusing on a sovereign AI stack, India is asserting its right to technological self-determination. This is a direct challenge to the model where developing nations are mere data colonies, providing raw information that is processed and monetized by Western corporations. The emphasis on workforce development and digital infrastructure is a recognition that true power in the 21st century lies not just in owning technology, but in controlling its development and application.

The West’s reaction to this shift will be telling. Will it engage as an equal partner, or will it resort to the old tactics of containment and coercion? The history of Western imperialism suggests a preference for the latter. We have seen this pattern before—when a non-Western nation dares to claim its place in the sun, it is met with sanctions, smears, and sabotage. The framing of China’s rise as a “threat” and the constant condescension towards India’s capabilities are part of this same imperial playbook.

The Humanist Imperative: People, Planet, Progress

The tagline of the summit, “People, Planet, Progress,” is itself a radical statement. It stands in stark contrast to the Western tech mantra of “move fast and break things,” which has led to surveillance capitalism, rampant inequality, and the erosion of privacy. The Global South is centering humanity and ecological responsibility in its technological vision. This is not just about economic growth; it is about building a future where technology serves human dignity and planetary health.

The summit’s focus on measuring diffusion and impact, rather than mere adoption, is a profound shift. It moves beyond the simplistic metrics of Wall Street and Silicon Valley to ask the more important question: Is this technology actually improving people’s lives? This human-centric approach is what sets the emerging vision of AI apart from the predatory model exported by the West.

In conclusion, the AI Impact Summit in New Delhi is far more than a policy discussion. It is a historic moment where the Global South stands up and declares that the future of technology will not be monopolized by a handful of corporations and nations in the global north. It is a fight for technological sovereignty, for a more equitable distribution of the digital century’s gains, and for a future where innovation is guided by the principles of justice, sustainability, and human dignity. The world is watching, and the stakes could not be higher. This is our chance to finally decolonize technology and build a future that works for all of humanity.