The AI Policy Podcast
Host: Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
Episode: Live from New Delhi: Our Takeaways from the India AI Impact Summit
Date: February 20, 2026
Hosts: Sadie McCullough (B), Gregory C. Allen (A)

Episode Overview

Live from the bustling heart of New Delhi during the India AI Impact Summit, Gregory C. Allen and Sadie McCullough of CSIS deliver their firsthand takeaways on the evolving global landscape of AI policy. The episode explores the summit’s sheer scale, India’s ambitions and achievements, major international investments and partnerships, headline-making moments, and the shifting narratives around AI safety, regulation, and sovereignty. Listeners gain deep insight into how India positioned itself as a global AI leader, the perspectives of world leaders and tech CEOs, and the latest on U.S. and European policy approaches.

Setting the Stage: The Summit’s Scope and Atmosphere

Summit Scale and Logistics

• Size & Energy: Over 100,000 attendees, 400+ sessions, multiple heads of state (including Macron and Lula), industry giants, and widespread government and civil society participation. (00:32–04:07)
• Organizational Challenges:
  • Massive traffic chaos and security disruptions, including world leaders causing closed roads (“MODI needs a helicopter…” – Allen, 02:41).
  • All events held on a university campus, which was “basically evicted” for the summit.
• Atmosphere: Compared to earlier, more exclusive summits (UK, Seoul, Paris), India’s approach was “more is more” — less exclusive, more democratic, but harder to navigate. (03:55–06:07)
• Notable Moment: Sadie runs into French President Macron in the hotel lobby. (01:56)

Memorable Quote:

“Everything broke down. It was chaos on the first day.”
— Former Indian Minister of Electronics and IT, as recounted by Allen (00:32)

The Wadhwani Center & CSIS: Organizing Engagement

Role in International Policy

• Hosting roundtables and major conferences bridging D.C. policy community with Indian stakeholders.
• Fireside chats with high-level diplomats (Indian/France ambassadors, India’s Principal Scientific Advisor).
• Goal: Facilitate U.S.-India and international policy dialogue prior to major summits. (06:07–08:02)

India’s Goals and Achievements

Summit Objectives

• Official Goals: Promote global cooperation, inclusion, and progress in AI.
• Unofficial Goals:
  • Project India as a rising AI power and innovation hub, especially for the Global South.
  • Attract major investments and foster deal-making with the presence of global tech giants. (10:16–11:39)
    • Major pre-announced infrastructure investments by Microsoft, Google, Amazon (>$10 billion each).
    • Major partnership announcements at the summit: OpenAI with Tata Consultancy, Anthropic with Infosys. (11:36, 16:16)
  • Demonstrate successful AI-driven public services (e.g., AI for tuberculosis screening, voice-based healthcare chatbots). (12:43)
  • Share public-sector use cases with other countries, especially in healthcare and service delivery.

Quote:

“This was an opportunity for India to showcase its leadership and... what opportunity looks like when you partner with India.”
— Allen (13:30)

Memorable Use Case:

India’s AI-driven chest X-ray analysis for tuberculosis due to lack of doctors – “AI services interpreting these chest X rays makes those diagnostic tools available to a much larger population.” (13:55)

Attitude Toward AI Risks:

• Tone: Marked optimism, “rebuttal to AI doomerism,” though the AI safety community was invited and participated robustly. (15:20)
• Balance: Safety was discussed but “almost drowned out” by a strong focus on opportunity and optimism. (15:19)

Investment and Industry Partnerships

Major Announcements (16:16–19:40)

• OpenAI & Tata Consultancy: Partnership to develop AI infrastructure and workforce upskilling in India.
• Anthropic & Infosys: Collaboration marking rival flagship Indian firms acquiring major global AI partners.
• Google.org:
  • $30M “Global AI for Government Innovation Impact Challenge.”
  • $30M “AI for Science Impact Challenge.”
• Themes: Investment announcements serve both PR and strategic purposes—India leveraged the summit for both.

Quote:

“Basically this is a flagship company of India... and it’s interesting that OpenAI is their partner.”
— Allen on OpenAI-Tata deal (16:23)

The Spectacle: India’s Hand-Holding Photo Op

Moment:

Prime Minister Modi brings tech CEOs (including Sam Altman and Dario Amodei) together on stage to join hands for a photo—except Altman and Amodei famously do not. (19:52–21:11)

Quote:

“It is amazing how Sam Altman and Daria Amidi just, like, very clearly refused to hold hands.”
— Allen (20:44)

• Clip goes viral: A “symbolic” reflection of rivalry and ongoing tensions.

Tech CEO Speeches: Timing, Disruption, and Optimism

AGI & Superintelligence Timelines (21:45–25:56)

• Sam Altman (OpenAI):

  “We may be only a couple of years away from early versions of true superintelligence. By the end of 2028, more of the world’s intellectual capacity could reside inside of data centers than outside of them.” (24:13)

• Demis Hassabis (Google DeepMind):

  “Now in 2026, we’re at another threshold moment where AGI… is on the horizon. Maybe within the next five years, something like 10 times the impact of the Industrial Revolution but happening at 10 times the speed.” (24:56)

• Dario Amodei (Anthropic):

  “We’re increasingly close to what I’ve called a country of geniuses in a data center.” (25:28)

Insight:

The new “conventional wisdom” is accelerating timelines for AGI and superintelligence, driven by rapid progress in AI agents.

Labor Market & Economic Disruption (26:04–27:32)

• General View: Universal expectations of radical labor disruption.
• Sam Altman:

  “It’s going to change the economics of a lot of things. Current jobs are going to get disrupted. We’re not so worried about the long term." (26:22)

• Dario Amodei:

  “AI will greatly grow the economic pie, but because it’s happening so fast, it may lead to a time of disruption.” (26:44)

• Sundar Pichai:

  “AI will undeniably reshape the workforce, automating some roles, evolving others, and creating entirely new careers.” (27:14)

India’s Position:

• CEOs politely but not unequivocally bullish on India’s potential, with some open doubts about near-term challenges for Indian industry given AI-driven disruption. (27:36)

The Policymaker Speeches

Prime Minister Narendra Modi (28:50–31:30)

• Message: Optimistic about AI’s impact; rejects “doomerism” but emphasizes need for global standards, content authenticity, and safeguards.

• Key Quotes:

  “We harbor no fear.” (29:05)
  “There is a paramount need today to establish global standards… authenticity for content… trust technology is cultivated from the very outset.” (29:20)

• Inclusion & Democratization: AI should be for everyone, not monopolized by powerful countries, echoing a call for “democratization” and wider spread of AI capabilities. May have contributed to U.S. hesitation on signing the summit’s declaration. (30:15)

Michael Kratzios (OSTP, U.S. White House) (31:30–43:01)

• Regulation:

  • U.S. seeks a national policy framework, opposes fragmented state-level regulation.
  • Focuses on “regulatory certainty and clarity,” not just deregulatory zeal.
  • Quote:

    "Regulatory and non-regulatory policy frameworks... are necessary to earn the public’s trust in AI...” (33:20)

• AI Sovereignty:

  • Critiques “self-sufficiency” as unrealistic; instead, supports “strategic autonomy” with U.S. partnership.
  • U.S. offers to build and export AI infrastructure (hardware, chips, data centers), suggesting “enabled independence,” not forced dependence.
  • Quote:

    "They build it, it’s yours. Now isn’t that interesting...?” (38:40)

• Open Source vs. Closed Source:

  • White House signals openness to open-source dominance, speculating that U.S. export value will shift to chips/hardware.
  • Sriram Krishnan at side event: “Free and works pretty good is a very compelling offer.” (41:24)

• Tech Corps Initiative (Peace Corps):

  • Will send experts to developing countries, help build digital/AI infrastructure, and train local workforces—a direct counter to China's Belt & Road model, especially Huawei telecoms precedent. (43:01–46:10)

President Emmanuel Macron (France) (46:10–49:51)

• International Collaboration:

  • Quote: “The old world said you compete or you lose. The new world says you connect or you fall behind.” (46:27)
  • Thinly veiled critique of U.S.-centric competitiveness; calls for multilateral, collaborative approaches.

• Sovereignty & Regulatory Philosophy:

  • Differentiates “granular” Indian approach vs. “sovereign and scaled” European one—both aiming for independence.
  • Quote: “Europe is not blindly focused on regulation. Europe is a space for innovation... but it is a safe space and safe spaces will win in the long run.” (49:14)
  • Defends European regulation as creating environments of “safe” innovation—countering U.S. criticism.

Final Reflections

• The India AI Impact Summit marked a historic next stage in AI policy’s globalization—demonstrating India’s ambitions, major international investments, an optimistic global narrative shift, and spirited debate on regulation, AI sovereignty, open vs. closed tech, and the need for balance between safety and progress.
• The episode offers both on-the-ground color (chaos, scale, viral moments) and crucial policy analysis.

Key Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:32–04:07 – Summit scale, crowd, chaos, and logistics
• 06:07–08:02 – Wadhwani Center’s engagement and international policy efforts
• 10:16–15:09 – India’s summit goals, AI public sector use cases
• 16:16–19:40 – Notable investments and partnership announcements
• 19:52–21:11 – Viral “hand-holding” moment on stage
• 21:45–25:56 – Tech CEO AGI/superintelligence predictions
• 26:04–27:32 – Labor and economic disruption themes
• 28:50–31:30 – Modi’s keynote themes (safeguards, inclusion)
• 31:30–43:01 – Michael Kratzios’ detailed remarks (regulation, sovereignty, Tech Corps)
• 46:10–49:51 – Macron’s speech and European regulatory perspective

Notable Quotes Recap

• Chaos at the summit:

  “Everything broke down. It was chaos on the first day.”
  — Former Indian Minister of Electronics and IT (00:32, relayed by Allen)

• Superintelligence prediction:

  "We may be only a couple of years away from early versions of true superintelligence..."
  — Sam Altman, OpenAI (24:13)

• On holding hands (or not):

  “It is amazing how Sam Altman and Daria Amidi just, like, very clearly refused to hold hands.”
  — Allen (20:44)

• India’s optimism:

  “We harbor no fear.”
  — Modi (29:05, quoted by Allen)

• AI sovereignty & U.S. exports:

  “They build it, it’s yours. Now isn’t that interesting, right?”
  — Allen on Kratzios’ remarks (38:40)

• Collaboration vs. competition:

  “The old world said you compete or you lose. The new world says you connect or you fall behind.”
  — Macron (46:27)

This episode delivers a dynamic, optimistic, and nuanced report of the historic India AI Impact Summit, spotlighting the current state and near-future direction of global AI policy, investment, sovereignty, and collaboration.