India hosts the AI Impact Summit

World leaders and technology bosses have gathered in New Delhi for the AI Impact Summit, the latest in a series of international meetings on artificial intelligence.

The summit, held at the Bharat Mandapam convention centre from 16 to 21 February, is the first in the series to be hosted by a country in the Global South.

From Bletchley to Delhi

It is the fourth global AI summit, following the AI Safety Summit at Bletchley Park in Britain in 2023, the AI Seoul Summit in 2024 and the AI Action Summit in Paris last year. The next is due to be held in Geneva in 2027.

The change of name from safety to action and now to impact reflects a shift in focus, away from the risks of the most advanced systems and towards the practical uses of AI and its benefits for economies and societies.

Who was there?

The summit was formally opened by India's prime minister, Narendra Modi, on 19 February. The French president, Emmanuel Macron, and the United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, also spoke at the opening ceremony.

More than 20 heads of state attended, along with technology leaders including Sundar Pichai of Google, Sam Altman of OpenAI and Demis Hassabis of Google DeepMind, who grew up in London.

People, planet and progress

The summit was organised around three themes, which India calls sutras: people, planet and progress. Working groups looked at issues including using AI for economic growth and social good, sharing the resources needed to build AI more widely, and making AI safe and trustworthy.

India wants to position itself as a leader in AI, with a large pool of software engineers and a fast-growing technology industry.

Safety report

Ahead of the summit, an international panel of experts published the second International AI Safety Report, which examines the risks posed by the most capable AI systems. The first report was commissioned after the Bletchley Park summit.

Criticism

The summit faced some criticism over its organisation, and some observers said it focused too much on trade and investment, with too little attention to how AI should be governed.

Britain's role

Britain, which hosted the first summit, has set up an AI Security Institute to test advanced AI models, and has worked with other countries on AI safety since Bletchley Park.

The government says it wants Britain to be one of the best places in the world to build and use AI.