Johannesburg: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday called for a global compact to prevent misuse of artificial intelligence and made a strong pitch for critical technologies to be human-centric, instead of finance-centric.
Addressing the third session of the G20 summit here, Modi also said technology applications should be ‘global’ rather than ‘national’, and based on ‘open source’ rather than ‘exclusive models’.
PM Modi said that this vision has been integrated into India’s technology ecosystem, and the same has resulted in significant benefits, be it in space applications, AI or digital payments, where it is a world leader.
He was addressing the third session of the G20 Summit on the topic “A Fair and a Just Future for All – Critical Minerals; Decent Work; Artificial Intelligence.
We must all ensure that AI is used for global good and its misuse is prevented. To do this, we must create a global compact on AI based on certain core principles, including effective human oversight, safety-by-design, transparency, and strict restrictions on the use of AI in deepfakes, crime, and terror activities, Modi said.
The Prime Minister said AI systems that impact human life, security, or public trust must be responsible and auditable.
And most importantly, AI should enhance human capabilities, but the ultimate responsibility for decision-making always remains with humans, he added.
Modi said in this age of AI, the approach must rapidly shift from ‘Jobs of Today’ to ‘Capabilities of Tomorrow’.
Unlocking talent mobility is essential for rapid innovation. We made progress on this topic at the Delhi G20. We hope that in the next few years, the G20 will develop a global framework for talent mobility, PM Modi said.
The Prime Minister outlined India’s approach based on equitable access, population-level skilling, and responsible deployment.
He said that under the India-AI Mission, accessible high-performance computing capacity is being built with the objective of ensuring that AI benefits reach everyone in the country.
The Prime Minister said that India will be hosting the AI Impact Summit in February 2026 with the theme ‘Sarvajanam Hitaya, Sarvajanam Sukhaya’ [Welfare for all, Happiness for all], and invited all G20 countries to join this effort.
The Prime Minister articulated India’s message and commitment for global well-being, asserting that it stood for – development that is sustainable, trade that is trusted, finance that is fair, and progress in which everyone prospers.
