“Open-source AI applications and other accessible AI approaches, where appropriate, and wide-scale diffusion of AI use cases can contribute to scalability, replicability, and adaptability of AI systems across sectors,” the draft declaration reads.
Some critics have dismissed India’s AI democratization pitch as mere branding, arguing the country’s actions in the run-up to the summit tell another story.
Pushing for democratization of the technology is “good optics,” Amber Sinha, executive director of digital rights group EDRi, told POLITICO. While it positions India as the leader of the Global South, the group of developing countries, in the global AI race, “I don’t think that necessarily leads to a particular democratic vision on AI, and I also don’t think that it necessarily pitches India against U.S. Big Tech,” Sinha said.
“A large part of the pitch for this AI summit is about seeking investments,” she added.
Several U.S. Big Tech AI front-runners, including OpenAI, Google and Microsoft, are sending top-level executives to New Delhi this week and are expected to give an update on their investments and work in India.
Indian companies are not turning their backs on U.S. Big Tech, according to Shweta Rajpal Kohli, president and CEO of the India Startup Policy Forum.
“When I talk to some of the founders and I [ask]: Are you worried about dominance? They [reply]: Can you get us a meeting with OpenAI? Can you get me into a room with Nvidia?” Rajpal Kohli told a panel Monday.
Eliza Gkritsi contributed to this report.