Artificial Intelligence (AI) is quickly moving from a research tool to a core part of modern economies. It is already changing how hospitals diagnose disease, how farmers plan crops, how governments deliver services, and how businesses operate at scale. Yet while AI promises massive economic growth, its benefits are not evenly shared.
Experts estimate that AI could add nearly US$15 trillion to the global economy by 2030. However, most of this value is expected to flow to just a handful of regions—primarily the United States, China, and parts of Europe. This uneven growth is creating a new digital divide, where a few countries build and control AI systems while the rest depend on them.
AI Is Becoming a Strategic Resource
AI today is not just software—it depends on advanced computer chips, massive data centres, high-speed networks, and skilled talent. Countries that control these resources gain an advantage not only in technology, but also in economic power, security, and global influence.
The United States leads in AI chip design, cloud computing, and large AI models, supported by strong private investment and startups. Europe focuses on setting rules and standards, especially around safety, transparency, and user rights. China is building its own AI ecosystem at scale, tightly linking research with industry and government use.
Together, these regions control most of the world’s AI infrastructure. As a result, many developing countries struggle to access computing power, data, and funding. Without intervention, they risk becoming users of AI tools built elsewhere, rather than creators or decision-makers in the AI economy.
The Risk for the Global South
For much of the Global South, the challenge is not interest in AI—it is access. Training advanced AI models requires expensive hardware and large datasets, both of which remain out of reach for many economies. This creates dependence on foreign platforms and services, often designed without local languages, contexts, or development needs in mind.
If this trend continues, AI could deepen existing inequalities. Countries that lack AI capacity may fall behind in productivity, innovation, and digital sovereignty. This is why many experts now argue that AI governance must focus not only on safety, but also on fair participation and shared growth.
India’s Opportunity in 2026
India enters 2026 at a critical moment. It has a large digital population, a growing pool of tech talent, and experience using technology at population scale. More importantly, India has shown that digital systems can be built as public infrastructure, not just private products.
India’s approach to AI focuses on solving real-world problems—healthcare access, agricultural productivity, public services, and urban planning—rather than chasing only high-end consumer applications. This practical focus gives India credibility as a leader for other developing economies.
With India hosting the India-AI Impact Summit in 2026 and taking on leadership roles in multilateral forums like BRICS, it has the chance to shape how AI is used for development, not just profit.
Building AI from the Ground Up
India’s domestic AI strategy is built around three simple ideas:
infrastructure, skills, and access.
Through the IndiaAI Mission, the government is investing heavily in national AI capacity. This includes expanding access to high-performance computing, setting up AI data labs, and supporting applied research in sectors such as healthcare, agriculture, and sustainable cities.
At the same time, India is focusing on talent. The country’s AI workforce is expected to grow rapidly over the next few years, creating a strong base for research, startups, and public-sector innovation.
This combination—technology plus people plus governance—allows AI to move beyond experimentation and into real deployment at scale.
From Vision to Action
What sets India apart is its focus on execution. Instead of treating AI as a future promise, the emphasis is on using it now, responsibly and inclusively. This is reflected in the theme of the India-AI Impact Summit 2026: From Vision to Action.
The goal is to move global discussions beyond broad principles and toward practical cooperation—shared infrastructure, joint research, skill-building, and aligned governance standards. The idea is simple: AI should work for people, support sustainable growth, and respect local needs.
Events like the ET AI Impact Forum 2026, designed for policymakers, industry leaders, and technologists, reflect this shift. AI is no longer a niche topic—it is becoming national infrastructure, requiring coordination across government, business, and society.
Why This Moment Is Important
AI will shape how economies grow, how jobs change, and how governments serve citizens. The real question is not whether AI will spread, but who controls it and who benefits from it.
India’s approach offers an alternative to concentration and dependency. By focusing on shared infrastructure, responsible governance, and real-world use cases, India can help ensure that AI becomes a tool for inclusion rather than exclusion.
If successful, this model could help the Global South move from being passive adopters of AI to active participants in shaping the digital future.
In the AI era, leadership will not be defined only by computing power—but by the ability to make technology work for society at large.