New Delhi, Feb 19 (UNI) United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday warned that the future of artificial intelligence cannot be decided by a handful of countries or left to the whims of a few billionaires, as he addressed the India AI Impact Summit 2026 in New Delhi.
Guterres cautioned that without urgent action, AI could deepen global inequality, amplify bias, and cause significant harm, but done right, it could accelerate breakthroughs in medicine, education, food security, climate action, and access to vital public services.
“Prime Minister Modi, thank you for your kind invitation and congratulations for India's leadership in organising the first AI summit in the Global South. The meeting in India has special meaning,” Guterres said, acknowledging India’s role in hosting the event.
He stressed that AI is rapidly transforming societies, economies, and governance, and that its regulation must be inclusive and globally representative. “The future of AI cannot be decided by a handful of countries or left to the whims of a few billionaires,” he said, adding that mismanaged AI could deepen inequality, amplify bias, and cause harm.
He pressed for global guardrails to ensure oversight and accountability, and the creation of “Global Fund on AI” to build basic capacity.
He also proposed a USD 3 billion global fund to ensure that all nations can benefit from AI, warning that without such investment, many countries risk being “logged out of the AI age” exacerbating global divides.
Speaking at the India AI Impact Summit 2026 in New Delhi, being attended by national leaders as well as tech CEOs, including Sam Altman of OpenAI and Google’s Sundar Pichai, he urged tech companies to contribute to a $3 billion global fund, saying: “That’s less than one per cent of the annual revenue of a single tech company. A small price for AI diffusion that benefits all, including the businesses building AI.” He also cautioned that as AI’s energy and water demands soar, data centres must switch to clean power, rather than “shift costs to vulnerable communities.”
Highlighting the potential of AI to accelerate breakthroughs in medicine, education, food security, climate action, and access to public services, Guterres called for multilateral cooperation and equitable access. “The message of this summit is simple. Real impact means technology that improves lives and protects the planet. So let's build AI for everyone, with dignity as the default setting,” he said.
Guterres urged that AI development be guided by ethical standards, human rights, and robust global oversight, stressing that “no child should be a test subject for unregulated AI.” He highlighted the UN’s newly established AI scientific advisory body, set up to help countries make informed decisions about the technology, and emphasised the need to protect people from exploitation as AI adoption accelerates.
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