At the dawn of AI age that will shape the course of humanity, says PM Modi in Paris AI Summit

, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at the AI Action Summit in Paris on February 11. (Credit: X @narendramodi)

The world is at the dawn of the artificial intelligence (AI) age that will shape the course of humanity, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at the AI Action Summit in Paris on February 11.

“We are at the dawn of the AI age. That will shape the course of humanity. Some people worry about machines becoming superior in intelligence to humans. But no one holds the key to our collective future and shared destiny. Other than us humans, that sense of responsibility must guide us,” Modi addressed a gathering that is being co-chaired by India.

This summit follows the UK's AI Safety Summit in 2023 and South Korea’s AI Seoul Summit in 2024, reinforcing India's commitment to shaping global AI governance.

India is co-chairing the AI Governance theme alongside France and Canada.

"AI is writing the code for humanity in this century," Modi added.

Speaking at the Grand Palais, Modi said India is building its own large language model considering its diversity, adding the country has one of the largest AI talent pools.

On January 30, India announced plans to develop its generative AI model, joining the ranks of global players such as OpenAI's ChatGPT and China's DeepSeek. The initiative, announced by IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, will be powered by the India AI Compute Facility, which has secured 18,693 GPUs to drive the development of an LLM tailored specifically for India.

“We also have a unique public-private partnership model for pooling resources like compute power,” Modi said in Paris. As part of the India AI Mission, the government has prioritised establishing a shared computing resource. India will share its experience and expertise to ensure that the AI future is for good and for all, he added.

Calls for Open-Source AI System

Countries should build open-source AI systems with unbiased datasets, the Prime Minister said . “We must develop open-source systems that enhance trust and transparency. We must build quality data sets free from biases. We must democratise technology and create people-centric applications,” Modi said.

He said the issue of energy-guzzling AI needs to be looked into and will require green power to fuel its future. “At the same time, sustainable AI does not only mean using clean energy. AI models must also be efficient and sustainable in size, data needs, and resources requirements,” he added.

Modi further said that the human brain manages to compose poetry and design spaceships using less power than light bulbs. He also asked countries to address concerns related to cyber security, disinformation and deepfakes.

Also read: 'Need to be careful of inherent bias': PM Modi's top quotes at AI Summit in Paris

Touching upon the debate of data localisation, he said it must be ensured that technology is rooted in local ecosystems for it to be effective and useful.

On fears related to job loss due to AI, he said history has shown that work does not disappear due to technology, however, its nature changes, and new types of jobs are created.

“Today, we need to invest in skilling and re-skilling our people for an AI-driven future,” Modi said.

Also read: Will AI come for your jobs? What PM Modi said at the AI Action Summit in Paris