Some 88 nations and regions, including the U.S., UK, and the European Union, have endorsed an India-led declaration on Saturday that prioritizes the rapid adoption and democratization of artificial intelligence (AI) over stringent safety regulations.
The declaration, reached at the fourth international AI summit in New Delhi, marks a departure from the inaugural 2023 summit in the U.K., which focused heavily on existential risks and safety protocols. Critics, however, note that while the new text recognizes the importance of security, it lacks binding enforcement mechanisms, relying instead on voluntary, industry-led measures.
Indeed, the transition of the summit from a high-level safety forum into what some observers described as a “free-for-all trade fair” has raised eyebrows among safety advocates. By sidelining mandatory safeguards in favor of market expansion, the New Delhi summit has effectively signaled that for the majority of the world’s governments, the race for AI integration now outweighs the fear of its potential risks.
The summit served as a stage for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to challenge the long-standing AI duopoly held by the United States and China. By championing the democratization of the sector, Modi successfully shifted the international conversation toward what he called the “wide-scale adoption” of AI and the necessity of making resources both affordable and accessible to the Global South.
The absence of top-tier leadership from Washington and Beijing — attributed to a scheduling conflict with the Chinese New Year and the launch of U.S. President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace — left a power vacuum that India and its allies were quick to fill.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres echoed the summit’s populist undertones during his keynote address, asserting that the future of AI must not be decided by “a few billionaires.”
A pillar of the New Delhi declaration is its unprecedented support for the open-source AI movement. The text advocates for making AI models publicly available for reuse and adaptation, arguing that such transparency is vital for scalability and innovation across diverse economic sectors.
“Open-source AI applications and other accessible AI approaches… can contribute to scalability, replicability, and adaptability of AI systems across sectors,” the declaration said, signaling a win for developers who argue that proprietary black box models stifle global progress.
For the Indian hosts, the endorsement is a major diplomatic victory. The inclusion of the U.S. and U.K. as signatories is particularly notable, as both nations declined to sign similar agreements last year. Even Russia, a traditional ally of India, joined the consensus.
