AI governance must confront moves to put self-interests above collective good, says India, amid US-China rivalry over new tech

New Delhi: The global governance of Artificial Intelligence must confront the temptation of a few nations to put self-interest above collective good, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said, articulating India’s position amid rivalry between China and the United States over control of the new technology.

Jaishankar underlined the concerns about bias, ethics, privacy, and vulnerability arising out of the new frontier of technology and noted that “trust and safety” were “essential for the implementation of responsible AI.”

Jaishankar was speaking at the Trust and Safety India Festival 2025, which was held as one of the preludes to the AI Impact Summit Prime Minister Narendra Modi would host in February 2026.

“Technology is a force for good, but only if humanity guides it,” Jaishankar quoted Modi saying.

The US launched its AI Action Plan on July 23. China released its Action Plan for Global Artificial Intelligence Governance just three days later.

President Donald Trump’s administration focused on building and expanding the AI capabilities of the US, and lessening regulations to ensure unfettered innovation. President Xi Jinping’s government in Beijing, on the other hand, focused more on expanding China’s influence in building the global AI governance architecture, proposing an international organisation for cooperation in the field of AI.

“The different societies have put different levels of emphasis on the benefits and on the risks of AI. Understandably, some of the narrative is influenced by those who have skin in the game.

But at the end of the day, it is imperative that we take a sober and balanced view,” Jaishankar said on Tuesday. “After all, concerns about bias, ethics, privacy and vulnerability are well-founded, deriving from pre-existing experiences. We also need to take particular precautions against the danger of losing trust in institutions and practices that underpin our daily life.”

“Already,” he added, “we see an inclination to question the umpire or even the playing field when results don’t go in our favour. Maintaining – and I would argue in the era of AI – even strengthening trust, therefore, is of utmost importance.”

He said that India, during its G20 presidency in 2023, had strongly urged the usage of AI for advancing Sustainable Development Goals, while safeguarding trust, safety, fairness and accountability. As a founding member of the Global Partnership on AI, India promoted the New Delhi Declaration, which envisaged responsible and inclusive AI. “We participated in the AI Summits in Bletchley Park and Seoul and co-chaired the Paris AI-Action Summit last year.

The AI-Impact Summit in 2026 – with a focus obviously on impact – will take this forward,” added the external affairs minister.