Paris, 11 February 2025
- There is a need for collective global efforts to establish governance and standards that uphold our shared values, address risks and build trust.
- AI can help transform millions of lives by improving health, education, agriculture and so much more.
- We need to invest in skilling and re-skilling our people for an AI-driven future.
- We are developing AI applications for public good.
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi co-chaired the AI Action Summit today along with the President of France, H.E. Mr. Emmanuel Macron in Paris. The week-long summit, which began with the Science Days on February 6-7, followed by the Cultural Weekend on February 8-9, culminated in a High-Level Segment attended by global leaders, policymakers, and industry experts.
The High-Level Segment commenced with a dinner hosted by President Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée Palace on February 10, bringing together Heads of State and Government, leaders of international organizations, CEOs of major AI companies and other distinguished participants.
At the Plenary Session today, President Macron invited Prime Minister to deliver the opening address as the co-chair of the summit.
In his address, Prime Minister noted that the world was at the dawn of the AI age where this technology was fast writing the code for humanity and re-shaping our polity, economy, security and society. Emphasizing that AI was very different from other technological milestones in human history in terms of impact, he called for collective global efforts to establish governance and standards that uphold shared values, address risks and build trust.
He further added that governance was not just about managing risks but also about promoting innovation and deploying it for the global good. In this regard, he advocated for ensuring access to AI for all, especially the Global South. He called for democratizing technology and its people-centric applications so that achieving the Sustainable Development Goals becomes a reality. Alluding to the success of India-France sustainability partnership through initiatives such as the International Solar Alliance, PM stated that it was only natural that the two countries were joining hands to forge an innovation partnership for a smart and responsible future.
Prime Minister highlighted India’s success in building a Digital Public Infrastructure for its 1.4 billion citizens based on open and accessible technology. Talking about India’s AI Mission, PM noted that India, considering its diversity, was building its own Large Language Model for AI. He underlined that India was ready to share its experience to ensure that the benefits of AI reach everyone. Prime Minister announced that India will be hosting the next AI Summit. The full address of Prime Minister may be seen here [ Opening Address ; Concluding Address ]
The Summit concluded with the adoption of the Leaders’ Statement. The summit featured discussions on critical themes, including greater access to AI infrastructure to ensure inclusion, the responsible use of AI, AI for public interest, making AI more diverse and sustainable, and ensuring safe and trusted governance of AI.
Source – Government of India
Opening Address by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi at the AI Action Summit, Paris
11 February 2025
Excellencies,
Friends,
Let me begin with a simple experiment.
If you upload your medical report to an AI app, it can explain in simple language, free of any jargon, what it means for your health. But, if you ask the same app to draw an image of someone writing with their Left hand, the app will most likely draw someone writing with their Right hand. Because that is what the training data is dominated by.
It shows that while the positive potential of AI is absolutely amazing, there are many biases that we need to think carefully about. That is why I am grateful to my friend, President Macron, for hosting this summit. And for inviting me to co-chair it.
Friends,
AI is already re-shaping our polity, our economy, our security and even our society. AI is writing the code for humanity in this century. But, it is very different from other technology milestones in human history.
AI is developing at an unprecedented scale and speed. And being adopted and deployed even faster. There is also a deep inter-dependence across borders. Therefore, there is a need for collective global efforts to establish governance and standards, that uphold our shared values, address risks, and build trust.
But, Governance is not just about managing risks and rivalries. It is also about promoting innovation, and deploying it for the global good. So, we must think deeply and discuss openly about innovation and governance.
Governance is also about ensuring access to all, especially in the Global South. It is where the capacities are most lacking – be it compute power, talent, data, or the financial resources.
Friends,
AI can help transform millions of lives by improving health, education, agriculture and so much more. It can help create a world in which the journey to Sustainable Development Goals becomes easier and faster.
To do this, we must pool together resources and talent. We must develop open-source systems that enhance trust and transparency. We must build quality data sets, free from biases. We must democratise technology and create people-centric applications. We must address concerns related to cyber security, disinformation, and deep fakes. And, we must also ensure that technology is rooted in local ecosystems for it to be effective and useful.
Friends,
Loss of jobs is AI’s most feared disruption. But, history has shown that work does not disappear due to technology. Its nature changes and new types of jobs are created. We need to invest in skilling and re-skilling our people for an AI-driven future.
Friends,
There is no doubt that the high energy intensity of AI needs to be looked into. This will require green power to fuel its future.
India and France have worked together for years through initiatives like the International Solar Alliance to harness the power of the sun. As we advance our partnership to AI, it is a natural progression from sustainability to innovation to shape a smarter and responsible future.
At the same time, Sustainable AI does not only mean using clean energy. AI models must also be efficient and sustainable in size, data needs and resource requirements. After all, the human brain manages to compose poetry and design space ships using less power than most lightbulbs.
Friends,
India has successfully built a Digital Public Infrastructure for over 1.4 billion people at a very low cost. It is built around an open and accessible network. It has regulations, and a wide range of applications to modernize our economy, reform governance and transform the lives of our people.
We have unlocked the power of data through our Data Empowerment and Protection Architecture. And, we have made digital commerce democratic and accessible to all. This vision is the foundation of India’s National AI Mission.
That is why, during our G20 Presidency, we built a consensus on Harnessing AI Responsibly, for Good, and for All. Today, India leads in AI adoption, and techno-legal solutions on data privacy.
We are developing AI applications for public good. We have one of the world’s largest AI talent pools. India is building its own Large Language Model considering our diversity. We also have a unique public-private partnership model for pooling resources like compute power. It is made available to our start-ups and researchers at an affordable cost. And, India is ready to share its experience and expertise to ensure that the AI future is for Good, and for All.
Friends,
We are at the dawn of the AI age that will shape the course of humanity. Some people worry about machines becoming superior in intelligence to humans. But, no one holds the key to our collective future and shared destiny other than us humans.
That sense of responsibility must guide us.
Thank you.
Source – Government of India
Concluding Address by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi at the AI Action Summit, Paris
Today’s discussions have brought out one thing – there is unity in vision and unity in purpose across stakeholders.
I welcome the decision to set up the “AI Foundation” and the “Council for Sustainable AI”. I congratulate France and my dear friend President Macron for these initiatives and assure our full support.
We must also make the “Global Partnership for AI” truly global in nature. It should be more inclusive of the Global South and its priorities, concerns and needs.
To build on the momentum of this Action Summit, India would be happy to host the next Summit.
Thank you.
Source – Government of India