Microsoft President Brad Smith praised India's growing leadership in artificial intelligence, saying the country is increasingly shaping the global AI agenda. Speaking to NDTV at the AI Impact Summit in New Delhi, Smith said the "world came to India" for the event, and highlighted how the global AI conversation shifted from building smarter machines to developing technology that better serves people-particularly in the Global South.
Smith said Microsoft has been backing the Global South through investments, but warned that if artificial intelligence does not reach these regions quickly enough, "the gap between North and South economically will widen."
"We announced this week that we are on pace to invest $50 billion between now and the end of the decade to bring AI to the global South," he said, adding that no country is more important than India because "the world's largest classroom is in India."
Smith described Microsoft as a long-term partner to India and a co-creator of technology across the Indian economy.
On the issue of China's subsidies in AI, Smith said India has a crucial role to play in the democratisation of the technology. He pointed to India's frugal approach to innovation as one of the ways the world stands to benefit from AI.
Rejecting fear-driven narratives around job losses, Smith said artificial intelligence can help people learn new skills and become more successful.
Addressing data security, he voiced support for India's data sovereignty, noting that the data of a country's citizens belongs to that country and that its protection must come first. Smith said Microsoft is ready to work with India to develop a safe and responsible AI framework.
