Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s AI Impact Summit inaugural address

Prime Minister Narendra Modi opened the AI Impact Summit in New Delhi by placing India’s role in a global frame. With representatives from more than 100 countries in the room, he described India as a natural host for a conversation of this scale, not only because it represents one-sixth of humanity, but because it carries the world’s largest youth population. He pointed to the energy on the ground, especially the strong presence of young builders, and to the exhibition of Made in India AI solutions spanning agriculture, security, accessibility for the differently-abled, and multilingual applications.

AI as a turning point in human history

From the start, Modi treated AI as more than a technology wave. He presented it as a civilisational turning point, comparing it to moments that changed the arc of human history, from discovering fire in stone to turning speech into written language, and later learning to send signals wirelessly across distance. The difference this time, he said, is the pace and scale. AI is moving faster than earlier revolutions, and its reach is wider.

The MANAV vision for AI

To shape that trajectory, he introduced India’s MANAV vision for AI, framing it as a human-first approach. MANAV, meaning human, was presented as a five-part anchor. AI must be moral and ethical. It must be governed through accountable systems that are transparent and robust. It must respect national sovereignty, captured in the line “Jiska data, uska adhikar” or whose data, their right. It must be accessible and inclusive, acting as a multiplier rather than a monopoly. And it must be valid and legitimate, meaning lawful and verifiable.

“Sarvajan Hitay, Sarvajan Sukhay”

He tied this directly to the summit’s core idea of fairness, using the phrase “Sarvajan Hitay, Sarvajan Sukhay” as a guiding principle. In practical terms, he warned against a future where people become mere data points or raw material for machines. AI, in his view, must be democratised so it becomes a tool for inclusion and empowerment, not a concentrated advantage for a few. He also underscored the relevance for the Global South, arguing that the benefits of AI should not be confined to the richest nations or the biggest platforms.

The GPS analogy: humans stay in control

To explain the balance he was calling for, Modi used a simple analogy. AI can act like a GPS, suggesting a direction, but humans must remain the decision-makers. The system may guide, but people must retain command and control.

The nuclear power parallel

That point flowed into a stronger warning, where he drew a parallel between AI and nuclear power. Both, he said, are transformative forces. In the wrong direction they can disrupt and destroy. In the right direction they can solve problems and contribute positively. The responsibility, he said, sits with this generation, because the choices made now will shape what is handed over to future generations.

Work, jobs, and the case for lifelong learning

On jobs and livelihoods, Modi took an optimistic view, grounded in a historical parallel. When the internet arrived, few could predict the kinds of work it would create. AI, he suggested, will also generate job categories that are hard to imagine today. The future is not predetermined by technology. It will be shaped by human decisions and actions.

He described a future of humans and intelligent systems working together, co-creating, co-working, and co-evolving, and said AI can make work smarter, more efficient, and more impactful, improving how people design, build and decide. In that future, he said, more people should be able to move into higher-value, more creative and meaningful roles, with fresh opportunities for innovation, entrepreneurship, and entirely new industries.

But he did not treat that shift as automatic. He called for a mass movement around skilling, reskilling, and lifelong learning so the workforce can move with the change rather than be pushed by it.

Why India believes it can lead

Modi also positioned India as unusually prepared for this moment. He spoke about India’s youth embracing AI with speed and confidence, supported by a large talent pool and a tech-enabled ecosystem. For him, India’s advantage lies in a dual capability: building new technology while also adopting it at extraordinary pace. The Made in India solutions showcased at the summit, he said, were early signals of that innovative capacity.

The questions he left the room with

Before closing, he pushed the conversation toward a set of philosophical questions. The real challenge, he suggested, is not asking what AI might do someday, but asking what people choose to do with AI right now. How does the world keep AI human-centric rather than machine-centric. How does it make AI sensitive and responsive to human needs. And what kind of AI does this generation want to hand over to the next.

Closing note: inclusive, trusted, human-centric

He closed with a simple direction for the future of work and AI more broadly: it must be inclusive, it must be trusted, and it must remain human-centric. In his framing, AI should amplify human potential, not replace it, and the right mix of ethics and governance will decide whether this turning point strengthens humanity or strains it.