Is the Global South finally ready to challenge Western dominance in AI? This week, the AI Impact Summit in Delhi could mark a turning point in the global AI power struggle. While the West, particularly the US and Europe, has dominated the narrative around artificial intelligence, this summit in India—a key player in the Global South—signals a potential shift in the balance of power. But here's where it gets controversial: Can India, despite its significant contributions to AI's foundational technologies, truly challenge the tech giants and Western nations that have reaped the lion's share of the rewards?
The AI Impact Summit brings together tech leaders, politicians, scientists, academics, and activists for high-stakes discussions on steering the AI revolution responsibly. Last year's AI Action Summit in Paris exposed deep divisions among Western powers, with US Vice President JD Vance boldly declaring America's non-negotiable leadership. But this year, in Delhi, the tone might be more subdued. India, a country that has laid much of the groundwork for AI—from its vast tech workforce to its role in data annotation—feels the sting of being left behind economically.
India boasts major AI hubs in cities like Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Mumbai, and has attracted investments from giants like Google, Nvidia, and Amazon. Yet, the stark reality is that many low-paid workers in India perform the invisible, labor-intensive task of manually categorizing data that fuels global AI tools. Journalist Karen Hao, in her book Empire of AI, highlights the grim conditions of workers in an unnamed Indian firm tasked with moderating AI-generated content, including horrifying images. Meanwhile, the average salary for an AI data trainer in Chennai is a mere £4,000 ($5,000) per year—a stark contrast to OpenAI's $500 billion valuation.
And this is the part most people miss: Despite India's contributions, the 2026 International AI Safety Report reveals that AI adoption rates in much of Africa, Asia, and Latin America remain below 10%, compared to over 50% in some Western countries. Even more concerning, major US AI chatbots like ChatGPT and Claude support only about half of India's 22 official languages, let alone its hundreds of dialects. As Professor Pushpak Bhattacharyya of IIT Mumbai points out, this linguistic gap excludes millions from the digital revolution, particularly in critical areas like education, healthcare, and governance.
To address this, India is developing its own sovereign AI platforms under the AI Mission, but progress is slow compared to the rapid advancements in the US and China. India's $1.2 billion budget for this initiative pales in comparison to the deep pockets of multi-billion-dollar corporations. An Indian government official recently emphasized that India is more focused on leveraging AI for economic transformation and digital sovereignty than engaging in geopolitical power struggles. Rajan Anandan, managing director at Peak XV, one of India's largest tech investors, echoes this sentiment: 'For India, this is about more than technology; it’s about economic transformation, digital sovereignty, and building capability at scale.'
But will the West, particularly the US, step aside? Professor Gina Neff of Queen Mary University London suggests that the Summit's proposed bottom-up, Global South approach to AI governance—focusing on people, planet, and progress—could sideline American influence. Jeni Tennison, executive director of Connected by Data, argues that governments must unite to create a more inclusive, democratic, and people-centered AI vision in the face of corporate dominance. 'As the world's largest middle power, India could make that happen,' she adds.
However, not everyone is optimistic. Some AI experts privately express concern that safety and responsibility have taken a backseat in the Summit's agenda. After the 2023 AI Safety Summit in the UK, the word 'safety' was quietly dropped from its title, and one expert has decided to skip Delhi altogether, citing low expectations for meaningful outcomes. Professor Dame Wendy Hall, a British computer scientist attending the Summit, shares these concerns, fearing the event will produce 'nothing significant' on minimizing AI's dangers.
Amanda Brock, CEO of OpenUK, proposes a radical solution: forcing AI companies to disclose how their products work, enabling others to build, improve, and scrutinize the technology. 'For this summit to have any real impact for the Global South, there needs to be access for all to AI, and that can only be achieved by opening it up,' she argues. While there’s been some movement in this direction, many AI giants still keep key elements, like training data, under lock and key.
So, what do you think? Can India and the Global South truly challenge Western dominance in AI, or will the status quo prevail? Is transparency the key to a more equitable AI future, or is it a naive expectation in a world driven by corporate interests? Let’s spark a conversation—share your thoughts in the comments below!
