AI Summit in New Delhi: 88 Countries Call for Safe Technology and Human Control

The Impact AI 2026 summit concluded in New Delhi has produced the broadest diplomatic agreement in the technology sphere to date, signed by 88 countries. The document emphasizes that artificial intelligence should serve all of humanity and that its development should be transparent and safe. Despite broad support, the declaration contains no binding legal commitments, reflecting the difficulties in reaching a global consensus. India, positioning itself as a leader of the Global South, attempted to chart a third way between the American and Chinese models, focusing on technological sovereignty and democratizing access to digital tools. The atmosphere at the summit was tense due to the United States' firm opposition to any form of centralized, international oversight. Representatives of the US administration rejected the concept of global governance of AI, warning against overregulation that could stifle innovation. In contrast to this position, the European Union and the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, advocated for a strong role for science and public institutions. Guterres announced the establishment of a new commission of 40 experts tasked with developing technical standards for human control over autonomous systems. Since 2023, following the rapid development of generative language models, the international community has undertaken a series of regulatory initiatives, such as the UK summit at Bletchley Park and the EU's Artificial Intelligence Act. Beyond diplomacy, observers' attention was drawn to the business clash between sector leaders. Sam Altman (OpenAI) and Dario Amodei (Anthropic) found themselves in the spotlight after an awkward moment during a group photo, where they were the only ones who did not shake hands in a gesture of solidarity. While Altman explained the incident as confusion on stage, observers interpreted it as a symbol of the growing rivalry between the giants. This symbolic scene highlights the brutal race for capital and market dominance ahead of anticipated record-breaking stock market debuts. India used this moment to invite American corporations to invest, while simultaneously building its own computing infrastructure and promoting AI solutions in agriculture and education. „La science informe mais les humains décident. Notre but est de faire du contrôle humain une réalité technique, pas un slogan.” (Science informs, humans decide. Our goal is to make human control a technical reality, not a slogan.) — António Guterres 88 — countries signed the joint declaration in New Delhi