India-France group warns, without guardrails, AI's rise risks a 'race to the bottom'

he group’s work signals a growing recognition that AI’s future must be shaped not just by technological advancements but by careful, collective decision-making

An AI governance group between India and France has warned that Artificial Intelligence, which is progressing fast, runs a risk of turning into a dangerous 'race to the bottom' in the absence of global guardrails.

The joint group between both nations has called for an inclusive and structured approach to AI governance, with an emphasis on balancing innovation with safety and fairness.

This come at a time when there has been a growing debate about the impact of AI on humanity, especially on labour markets. The Economic Survey 2025 had noted that AI is poised to surpass human performance in critical decision-making, potentially causing widespread job displacement.

The global working group on AI governance - convened under the AI Action Summit and co-chaired by India and France - issued a strong call for global cooperation to prevent AI from spiraling into unchecked competition.

The group’s report underscored the urgency of a 'collective and concerted response' to AI’s rapid rise, and warned that 'a frenetic race (could) turn into a race to the bottom', losing sight of safety and respect for human dignity.

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"As history has shown with other disruptive technologies, such as telecommunications, there is an urgent need for global action toward openness, accessibility, and inclusiveness. It is the responsibility of governments to leverage AI’s potential to foster a more equitable and just world," the report released on February 11 said.

The working group comprises 29 countries, six international organisations, seven tech companies, and ten civil society groups. Its report was co-signed by IT Ministry's Additional Secretary Abhishek Singh, and France’s Ambassador for Digital Affairs, Henri Verdier.

Rather than pushing for rigid global regulations, the working group advocated a broad governance approach, incorporating regulatory and non-regulatory tools such as voluntary commitments, codes of conduct, and open standards.

"It was made clear from the outset that 'governance' did not systematically mean regulation, but included a wide range of modalities for action: codes of conduct, voluntary commitments, sharing of best practices, open standards," the report said.

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The group identified five core principles for AI governance:

• Inclusive growth, sustainable development, and well-being
• Respect for the rule of law, human rights, and democratic values
• Transparency and explainability
• Robustness, security, and safety
• Accountability

It also stressed the role of “public infrastructures, open standards and the distribution of skills and competencies,” adding that “code is law, infrastructure is politics.”

Discussions on some topics—such as interoperability of standards—remained inconclusive, the report said.

"We would like to highlight the important exchanges, albeit inconclusive, on the question of the interoperability of standards and public policies, and on the articulation of the local and the global, in respect of international law and more national or regional collective preferences," the report said.