Modi, Guterres Meet at Delhi AI Summit, Call for Science-Led Global Governance

Guterres arrived in India to attend the AI Impact Summit 2026.

Earlier in the day, Guterres called for utilising Artificial Intelligence for global good and mitigate challenges being faced by humanity. He urged countries to come together and prepare, protect, and invest in people. Today international cooperation is difficult. Trust is strained, and technological rivalry is growing.

He made the remarks while speaking at the Global AI Impact Summit 2026 here in the national capital on the role of science in international AI governance.

"We are barrelling into the unknown. AI innovation is moving at the speed of light, outpacing our collective ability to fully understand it. If we want AI to serve humanity, policy cannot be built on guesswork. It cannot be built on hype or disinformation. We need facts we can trust and share across countries and across sectors. Less noise, more knowledge", he said.

Guterres highlighted the steps taken by the United Nations around AI noting the recently formed AI Panel.

He said, "The United Nations is building a practical architecture that puts science at the centre of international cooperation on AI. And it starts with the Independent International Scientific Panel on Artificial Intelligence. This panel is designed to help close the AI knowledge gap and assess the real impacts of AI across economies and societies so countries at every level of AI capacity can act with the same clarity. It is fully independent, it is globally diverse, and it is multidisciplinary because AI touches every area of every society. And I'm delighted that the General Assembly of the United Nations confirmed the 40 experts I proposed to Member States. Now the real work begins on a fast track to deliver a first report ahead of the global dialogue on AI governance in July. The panel will provide a shared baseline of analysis, helping member states move from philosophical debates to technical coordination, and anchor choices in evidence."

He called science-led governance an accelerator for solutions and a way to make progress safer, fairer, and more widely shared.

The India AI Impact Summit has brought together government policymakers, industry AI experts, academicians, technology innovators and civil society from across the world at New Delhi to advance global discussions on artificial intelligence.

The India AI Impact Summit, the first global AI summit to be hosted in the Global South, reflects on the transformative potential of, AI aligning with the national vision of "Sarvajana Hitaya, Sarvajana Sukhaya" (welfare for all, happiness for all) and global principle of AI for Humanity. This summit is part of an evolving international process aimed at strengthening global cooperation on the governance, safety, and societal impact of AI.

The India AI Impact Summit 2026 is guided by three Sutras or foundational pillars - People, Planet, and Progress. These sutras articulate the core principles for global cooperation on artificial intelligence. They aim to promote human-centric AI that safeguards rights and ensures equitable benefits across societies, environmentally sustainable advancement of AI, and inclusive economic and technological advancement.

The Summit saw participation of more than 110 countries, 30 International organizations, including about 20 HoS/HoG level participation, about 45 Ministers.

The India AI Impact Summit 2026 is guided by three Sutras or foundational pillars - People, Planet, and Progress. These sutras articulate the core principles for global cooperation on artificial intelligence. They aim to promote human-centric AI that safeguards rights and ensures equitable benefits across societies, environmentally sustainable advancement of AI, and inclusive economic and technological advancement.

This summit is fourth in the series of AI summits held at UK Bletchley Park in 2023, South Korea in 2024 and France in 2025.

The process began with the AI Safety Summit hosted by the United Kingdom at Bletchley Park in 2023. The Bletchley Declaration, signed by 28 countries and the EU in November 2023, established a global consensus on managing risks from frontier AI and the importance of international cooperation on AI safety. One of the key outcomes of this summit was the establishment of AI Safety Institutes in several countries to promote technical research, information sharing, and risk assessment.

The process continued with the AI Seoul Summit, co-hosted by the UK and South Korea in 2024. The Seoul Declaration for Safe, Innovative and Inclusive AI was endorsed by 10 countries and the EU, reinforcing global commitments on AI safety and responsible innovation.

The AI Action Summit in Paris in 2025 was co-chaired by France and India, marked an important evolution in the summit process. While safety remained a core concern, the summit broadened its focus to include public interest considerations, sustainability, democratic governance of AI, and inclusive innovation. India played an important role as a co-chair partner in the France Summit, contributing to shaping discussions toward equitable access to AI technologies and development-oriented applications.

At the France summit, 63 countries and EU signed the Statement on Inclusive and Sustainable Artificial Intelligence for People and the Planet. The declaration outlines shared principles for ensuring that AI remains accessible, transparent, ethical, safe, and trustworthy, while addressing the digital divide and promoting inclusive innovation.

The India AI Impact Summit 2026 seeks to advance a development-oriented global AI agenda, with relevance for emerging economies and the Global South.

- ANI