Hosting an Artificial Intelligence Summit offers Bharat far more than investment opportunities or diplomatic agreements. Its greatest gain is intangible yet transformative influence. By convening global leaders, technologists and policymakers, India strengthens its position as a norm-shaper in forums such as the United Nations and the G20. It enhances global prestige, signals strategic confidence, and projects moral authority rooted in a human-centric development philosophy.
Reaching out to Humanity
At the India AI Impact Summit 2026 in New Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi articulated a vision of Artificial Intelligence that represents one-sixth of humanity. He emphasised that AI must advance inclusion, ethics, and global cooperation.
Drawing upon India’s Digital Public Infrastructure and the IndiaAI Mission, he called for democratising AI to benefit the Global South. He stressed responsible governance, transparency, and safeguards against misuse, particularly deepfakes that threaten children and vulnerable communities. In doing so, India positioned itself not merely as a technology adopter, but as a global advocate for accessible, accountable, and equitable AI aligned with sustainable development.
Artificial Intelligence holds the potential to become one of the most powerful tools for advancing gender equality, if designed and governed responsibly. AI for inclusive future envisions technology that removes, rather than reinforces, historical bias. From recruitment algorithms and promotion systems to credit scoring and healthcare diagnostics, AI must be built on diverse datasets and ethical frameworks that prioritise fairness and transparency.
Indian women are emerging as architects of this inclusive AI future, directly contributing to the goals of SDG 5 (Gender Equality) and SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure). Under policy frameworks shaped by NITI Aayog and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, greater female participation strengthens both innovation and equity. Diverse development teams create more representative datasets and fairer algorithms, because who builds AI shapes how it behaves. At CivicSabha 2.0, Dr. Sanghamitra Dhar of UN Women India stressed gender-responsive data, strong governance, and diverse AI design.
Women are not merely beneficiaries of AI; they are creators, designers, policymakers, and decision-makers. Their leadership echoes global discussions at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW), where AI is increasingly recognized as both an opportunity and a risk for gender justice.
AI & Women: Opportunities & Risks
AI can expand equal access to education through personalised learning platforms, support women entrepreneurs with digital market intelligence and enhance financial inclusion through data-driven lending models. In healthcare, gender-sensitive AI tools improve maternal care, disease detection and research accuracy. AI-powered systems can also combat online harassment and gender-based violence through advanced detection and response mechanisms.
Yet risks remain. Automation may disproportionately affect women in informal and care-sector employment. The digital divide, underrepresentation of women in STEM fields, and limited participation in AI governance could widen inequalities if left unaddressed.
Achieving equal opportunity requires gender-responsive regulation, inclusive policy design, investment in girls’ digital skills, and representation of women in AI leadership. Ethical governance, bias audits, privacy safeguards, and human oversight must remain foundational principles.
Gender Transformative AI Models
A landmark outcome of the India AI Impact Summit 2026 was the launch of the Casebook on AI and Gender Empowerment, developed by the IndiaAI Mission, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, the Ministry of Women and Child Development, and UN Women. Showcasing 23 rigorously reviewed AI solutions selected from 235 submissions across 50+ countries, the casebook demonstrates measurable impact in six sectors: education and STEM, safety and protection, legal empowerment, digital literacy, health and nutrition, and economic inclusion.
From mentorship tools increasing girls’ STEM participation to privacy-preserving maternal health technologies and bias-audited credit scoring for women entrepreneurs, these examples prove that inclusion in AI must be intentional. The Global South emerges not as a passive recipient of technology, but as a leader in ethical, scalable, and gender-transformative innovation.
AI & Gender Justice at the UN
For the 67th session United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW67- 2023), the central theme was the intersection of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and gender, highlighting both the opportunities for advancement and the risks of existing gender inequalities. Agreed Conclusions of CSW67 reinforced the need for human-rights-based, gender-responsive digital governance and safeguards against technology-facilitated violence. UNCSW68 (2024) also examined AI as both a transformative opportunity and a structural risk. Experts highlighted how AI can improve gender-disaggregated data analysis and evidence-based policymaking while cautioning against algorithmic bias and digital exclusion. Innovative initiatives such as CSW GPT, launched at CSW69 (2025) by UN Women Asia-Pacific in partnership with youth networks, demonstrate how AI itself can democratise policy engagement by making global commitments like the Beijing Platform for Action more accessible.
Themes for the 70th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW 70), to be held from March 9th to 19th 2026 are ‘Ensuring and Strengthening Access to Justice for all women and girls’ and ‘Women’s full and effective participation and decision making in public life’. Justice for all women in the age of AI demands intentional inclusion, ethical design, and gender-responsive governance. True justice lies in embedding equality into innovation from the very beginning. AI can expand women’s participation by improving access to education, digital finance, healthcare, and leadership networks.
India’s hosting of the AI Impact Summit represents more than technological ambition—it reflects a commitment to shaping the ethical foundations of the digital age. By advancing a human-centric and gender-responsive vision of Artificial Intelligence, India signals that innovation must be guided by inclusion, accountability, and equity. Democratising AI requires more than expanding access to technology; it demands meaningful participation from women and marginalised communities in designing, developing, and governing AI systems. When diverse voices shape innovation, technology becomes more responsive, fair, and socially transformative. As a leading voice of the Global South, Bharat will champion a model of AI that promotes shared prosperity. In embedding ethics and equality at the core of technological advancement, Bharat can help steer the global AI journey towards a more inclusive and humane future.
(Views are personal)
