The Wire Staff 
New Delhi: While the United States and the United Kingdom’s refusal to sign the final communique at the Paris Artificial Intelligence Action Summit highlighted the lack of a global consensus, the Indian prime minister, who co-hosted the gathering, called for “governance and standards” to manage risks and uphold shared values for the emerging technology.
On Tuesday (February 11), the US and the UK declined to sign the final statement – titled the “Statement on Inclusive and Sustainable Artificial Intelligence for People and the Planet” – at the summit, distancing themselves from a declaration backed by 61 countries, including China, France and India.
According to UK media reports, the British prime minister’s office stated that the UK “hadn’t been able to agree on all parts of the leaders’ declaration: and would “only ever sign up to initiatives that are in the UK’s national interests”.
The leaders’ statement outlined six key priorities, including commitments to “reduce digital divides,” ensure that AI is “open, inclusive, transparent, ethical, safe, secure and trustworthy,” and promote its “sustainability for people and the planet”.
It also called for strengthening international cooperation to “promote coordination in global AI governance”.
According to the Financial Times, which cited an unnamed official, such language deterred the US, which disagreed with the phrasing on international collaboration and multilateralism.
Reflecting the unilateral instincts of the Trump administration, US Vice President J.D. Vance, making his international debut, said, “The Trump administration will ensure that the most powerful AI systems are built in the US, with American-designed and manufactured chips”.
He railed against the “excessive regulation” of AI, arguing that it could “kill a transformative industry just as it’s taking off”.
Vance also insisted that AI “must remain free from ideological bias” and that “American AI will not be co-opted into a tool for authoritarian censorship”.
In his speech, Modi emphasised the “need for collective global efforts to establish governance and standards that uphold our shared values, address risks and build trust”.
“But governance is not just about managing risks and rivalries. It is also about promoting innovation and deploying it for the global good. So we must think deeply and discuss openly about innovation and governance,” he said.
India also pushed for inclusivity, particularly for the Global South, where “capacities are most lacking – be it compute power, talent, data or financial resources”.
At a media briefing in Paris, secretary of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology S. Krishnan said that on the question of regulation and innovation, India is clear that the “focus has to be primarily on innovation, and regulation currently is secondary”.
“We believe that, as far as AI regulation is concerned, certain aspects of it are already addressed under existing laws,” he said.
A day earlier, the summit’s chair, French President Emmanuel Macron, walked a fine line, urging Europe to streamline its regulations while also stressing the need for international governance.
“It’s not a question of defiance, it’s not a question of thwarting innovation, it’s a question of enabling [innovation] to happen at an international level while avoiding fragmentation,” Macron added.
The 40-year-old US vice president also appeared to be targeting China, warning against partnerships with them on AI.
“Some authoritarian regimes have stolen and used AI to strengthen their military intelligence and surveillance capabilities, capture foreign data and create propaganda to undermine other nations’ national security,” he said, adding, “I want to be clear, this administration will block such efforts full stop.”
The arrival of China’s low-cost AI model, DeepSeek, has shaken Silicon Valley’s assumptions of leadership in AI development.
Without naming Beijing, Vance drew a parallel to past concerns over CCTV and 5G equipment, saying, “But as I know – and as some of us in this room have learned from experience – partnering with them means chaining your nation to an authoritarian master that seeks to infiltrate, dig in and seize your information infrastructure. Should a deal seem too good to be true?”
India will host the fourth AI Action summit, which could take place “later this year”.
Secretary Krishnan said that the summit “represents very positive outcomes, not just for India and for the Global South, but also for the world as a whole”.
“We believe it represents a re-balancing of the approach towards AI. And therefore the time is right for India to host, as the prime minister offered, and the offer was accepted that the next AI Summit would be hosted in India later this year,” he said.