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THE TALK – AI Impact Summit 2026 – Bulletin #Day-2
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17 February 2026 | Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi
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The second day of the AI Impact Summit 2026 deepened the conversation from vision to execution, focusing on AI competitiveness, ethical public systems, governance in practice, workforce readiness, cybersecurity, healthcare transformation, and the future of creativity. Across sessions, a consistent message emerged, the true measure of AI leadership lies not in ambition, but in delivery, trust, and inclusive real-world impact.
There was some chaos for the entries, as the system was overwhelmed with nearly 200,000 participants. The situation showed the enthusiasm of people to network and hear experts on this new phenomenon. Furthermore, few commentators felt that the Summit, the largest one on AI in the world, will be more about deals than policies. Perhaps the issue of policies will feature in future AI events when many rumbles take place.
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AI Competitiveness and Innovation: From Insight to Action
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Discussions on national AI competitiveness emphasised that global leadership increasingly depends on execution capacity rather than strategic announcements. Foundational enablers such as compute infrastructure, reliable energy, and resilient supply chains were identified as critical, but speakers stressed that infrastructure alone cannot ensure competitiveness without open systems, interoperability, and strong cross-sector collaboration.
Talent development, institutional readiness, and diffusion of AI beyond metropolitan centres were highlighted as decisive factors for inclusive growth. The session concluded that coordination, adaptability, and responsible scaling will define long-term AI leadership in an evolving multipolar landscape.
On the panel were: Graham Brookie, Atlantic Council; Nabiha Syed, Mozilla Foundation; Ruth Berry, NVIDIA; and Thomas Zacharia, AMD
– Reporting by Vidhi Maharishi
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Data, People, and Pre-Empting Mass Exclusion: Ethical AI as Digital Public Infrastructure
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This key ethical dialogue examined how AI-enabled public systems can unintentionally produce silent and pre-emptive exclusion, particularly when algorithmic decisions shape access to welfare, healthcare, finance, and identity services. Bias embedded in datasets, opaque decision-making, and structural barriers such as language or biometric requirements were identified as major risks.
Speakers stressed the importance of measuring exclusion before celebrating inclusion, alongside strengthening accountability frameworks, community participation, data sovereignty, and ex-ante risk assessments. Embedding ethics directly into DPI design emerged as essential to ensuring AI remains people-centric and equitable.
On the panel were: Arpita Kanjilal; Digital Empowerment Foundation; Osama Manzar, Digital Empowerment Foundation; Nicolas Miailhe, AI Safety Connect; Paola Galvez Callirgos, Globethics; Dr. Bhavani Rao R, UNESCO; Ram Papatla, Google; and Jayesh Ranjan, IAS Office
– Reporting by Vidhi Maharishi
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From Policy to Practice: Governing AI for Global Impact
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Moving beyond principles, this session explored practical governance tools including regulatory sandboxes, independent evaluations, red-teaming, model cards, and audit logs. Speakers emphasised that effective AI governance requires bridging regulatory expectations with technical feasibility, while preventing a global “race to the bottom.”
Discussions addressed risks from open-weight models, deployer liability, staged release strategies, and the need for harmonised yet locally adaptable governance frameworks. The session concluded that measurable, enforceable, and transparent governance mechanisms are essential for global AI impact.
On the panel were: Ashish Aggarwal, NASSCOM; Gail Slater, Google; Ivana Bartoletti, Wipro; Jules Polonetsky, Future of Privacy Forum; Vifredo “Wifi” Fernández, xAI.
– Reporting by Vidhi Maharishi
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Responsible AI for Health: Governance, Implementation, and Investment considerations
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Healthcare-focused deliberations highlighted that AI’s promise will only be realised through governance-led scaling rather than fragmented pilots. Embedding ethics-by-design, interoperable data governance, informed consent, and rigorous real-world evaluation was identified as fundamental to trustworthy adoption.
Speakers emphasised aligning AI innovation with operational health systems, workforce readiness, and sustainable investment, ensuring measurable improvements in equity, cost-effectiveness, and public health outcomes rather than isolated technological experimentation.
On the panel were: Divleen Jeji, Google for Health; Mona Duggal, Indian Council of Medical Research; Andreas Reis, World Health Organisation (WHO); Ulrike Till, World Intellectual Property Organisation; Saumya Gandhi, Anthropic; Shailendra Hegde, Gates Foundation; Emily Muller, Wellcome Trust and it was moderated by Sameer Pujari from WHO.
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From Policy to Practice: Governing AI for Global Impact
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A parallel discussion examined how AI is reshaping artistic production, cultural expression, and creative economies. While AI lowers barriers to entry and enables experimentation, concerns emerged around creator agency, fair compensation, data transparency, cultural flattening, and concentration of power.
Panellists stressed that safeguarding creativity requires structural protections, collective accountability, and preservation of human imagination, ensuring AI augments rather than replaces cultural diversity and originality.
On the panel were: Ziyaad Bhorat, Mozilla Foundation; Nikkhil Advani, G5a; Saranyan Vigraham, Meta; and Divya Siddarth, Collective Intelligence Project
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India Future Skills and AI Collaborative Roundtable: Building Workforces, Capacities, and Institutional Readiness
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Workforce readiness discussions underscored the urgency of reimagining education, skilling, and institutional capacity for an AI-driven economy. Adaptive curricula, project-based learning, mentorship, and measurable employment outcomes were highlighted as key strategies.
Attention was given to Tier-2 and Tier-3 regions, gender inclusion in STEM, faculty development, and ecosystem-wide collaboration. The roundtable concluded that coordinated governance and responsible AI education are essential for positioning India as a global leader in inclusive AI skilling.
On the panel were: Pratima Harite, Lenovo; Kumar Anurag Pratap, Capgemini; Antara Lahiri, Micron Foundation; Hemant Lohiya, Redington Foundation; Shipra Sharma, IBM; Parminder Singh Kakria, Kyndryl; Bhomik Shah, CSRBOX
– Reporting by Gazal Arora
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AI for Secure India: Combating AI-Enabled Cybercrime, Deepfakes, Darkweb Threats and Data Breaches
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Security-focused discussions highlighted the rapid rise of AI-enabled cybercrime, synthetic media fraud, automated scams, and cross-border digital threats. While AI strengthens detection and defence, it simultaneously lowers barriers for malicious actors, intensifying the race between enforcement and exploitation.
Speakers called for evolving legal safeguards, privacy-respecting enforcement, institutional capacity building, and advanced forensic capabilities, alongside stronger coordination across government, law enforcement, academia, and industry. Building a resilient and secure digital ecosystem emerged as a national priority.
On the panel were: Triveni Singh, Future Crime Research Foundation; Rakesh Maheshwari, Cyber Law & Data Governance Expert; Sapna Bansal, Shri Ram College of Commerce, University of Delhi; Tarun Wig, Innefu Labs; Vivek Sood, Supreme Court of India
– Reporting by Gazal Arora
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Operational Lessons from the Summit Experience
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Reflections on the summit’s on-ground experience highlighted logistical and communication gaps, including entry management, connectivity challenges, limited amenities, and inconsistencies with the broader vision of Digital India. These operational shortcomings underscored the importance of execution excellence, participant experience, and institutional preparedness in global technology convenings.
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Jaipur • New Delhi • Chittorgarh • Kolkata • Hanoi • Nairobi • Lusaka • Accra • Geneva • Washington DC
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