Modi’s AI vision

Biggest names in AI meet in New Delhi

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Welcome to Balance of Power, bringing you the latest in global politics. If you haven't yet, sign up here. If the AI revolution sweeping the globe feels like a runaway freight train, then Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is trying to gently tap the brakes. Before an array of world leaders and Silicon Valley luminaries at an AI summit he's hosting in New Delhi, Modi sought to lay out a vision of the technology that is ethical and human-first, one that respects the so-called Global South of which Modi counts himself as a key leader. Few of these countries — India included — have substantial AI sectors. Virtually all the key elements are from either the US or China, be they mainstream large-language models like Chat GPT and DeepSeek, or AI accelerators like Nvidia graphics processors. WATCH: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman warns at the New Delhi meeting today about the dangers of dictators using AI. That's fueled concerns that the key AI players see Global South nations as little more than a constellation of billion-plus-person markets to deploy their wares — or worse, sources of data to hoover up and help program their models. Emmanuel Macron spoke to those fears, telling the summit: "No country is bound to serve only as a market where foreign companies sell their models and download their citizens' data. No country." The French leader also pledged that protecting children from social media and AI will be one of his priorities during France's Group of Seven presidency this year. In India, that vision is already taking shape. Modi's government is rolling out strict laws to curtail access and data collection by social-media platforms. He's also advocating mandatory AI authenticity tags, including watermarks and source-tracking. The bet is that India's 1.4 billion-person market, the world's largest, is enticing enough for AI companies to comply. A slew of big firms have announced billions of dollars in new AI-related investments in India this week, including OpenAI's tie-up with Tata Group to build infrastructure with up to 1 gigawatt of capacity, potentially worth tens of billions of dollars. So far, at least, Modi's AI gamble seems to be paying off. — Dan Strumpf A broadcast showing Modi and Macron at the AI Impact Summit in New Delhi. Photographer: Prakash Singh/Bloomberg Global Must Reads The US announced visa restrictions on Iranian officials and executives for repressing recent anti-regime protests and cutting off internet access as the Trump administration ratchets up pressure on Tehran amid ongoing nuclear talks. Read our QuickTake on why the tensions are placing focus on the Strait of Hormuz, an essential passage for global oil trade and whose closure would trigger a spike in oil prices. 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