How India Can Lead the World's AI Future—And Fight Digital Inequality

While AI is advancing at a historic pace, strong digital ecosystems in some countries and limited connectivity, skills, and infrastructure in others are widening gaps.

The report, focussed on the Asia Pacific region, warned that without deliberate action, AI could widen gaps in income, opportunity, and governance, reversing years of progress in reducing global inequality.

However, it showed that India’s digital public infrastructure, expanding AI research ecosystem, and large technology workforce provide a strong foundation to scale AI for public value.

“India’s digital strengths give it a head start in building an AI future that works for everyone. AI is already strengthening public health, improving climate resilience, and supporting better services. The real test is ensuring these gains reach every community,” said Dr Angela Lusigi, Resident Representative, UNDP India.

“The choices we make now will determine whether AI narrows gaps or widens them. India can lead by ensuring its benefits reach rural communities, women, and young people, not only those already connected,” she added.

The report highlighted India as a country that can demonstrate how AI can be scaled safely and inclusively.

India is already applying AI to strengthen major public systems. Aadhaar, the world’s largest biometric ID system with over 1.3 billion residents, is the biggest example. It has been increasingly paired with AI to reduce fraud, improve targeting, and ensure benefits reach the right households.

The country's health sector is also seeing increasing AI adaptation, especially in chest X-ray interpretation in tuberculosis screening, and to tackle climate change, to predict floods and other weather conditions.

AI is also being applied in India's agriculture sector to help authorities identify climate-vulnerable districts and guide climate-smart agriculture, as well as strengthen biodiversity with AI-enabled species identification and real-time alerts.

AI’s long-term impact will depend on choices made now -- especially investments in digital governance, inclusion, and safeguards, the report said.

It called "for India to continue leading on people-first AI, focusing on transparency, equitable access, and participation of marginalised communities in designing AI systems".

“With the right policies, India can help steer the region away from a new era of inequality and toward an inclusive AI future that advances the Sustainable Development Goals,” it added.

- IANS