Context
- India’s AI Summit highlights tension between global cooperation ideals and national strategic interests.
- Artificial Intelligence reshapes economies, militaries, and governance systems simultaneously.
- No nation can treat AI purely as a borderless public good.
- Strategic competition increasingly shapes technology access, standards, and supply chains.
- India must balance universalist diplomacy with national technological sovereignty.
Historical Lessons from Nuclear Diplomacy (1955)
- In 1955, Homi J. Bhabha chaired the UN Geneva Conference on atomic energy.
- Conference occurred amid intense U.S.- Soviet Cold War technological rivalry.
- India advocated peaceful uses of atomic energy for developmental transformation.
- Bhabha emphasised technology access for developing countries’ modernisation.
- India positioned itself as a bridge-builder between power blocs.
Capacity Building with International Partnerships
- Bhabha recognised that global influence flows from domestic technological capability.
- India pursued indigenous nuclear development alongside Western scientific collaboration.
- Early cooperation emerged with U.S., Canada, Britain, and France.
- Partnerships accelerated India’s research ecosystems and institutional foundations.
- Lesson: National capacity and global cooperation must evolve together.
Cautionary Experience: Strategic Drift in Nuclear Era
- India’s nuclear momentum weakened after leadership losses in the mid-1960s.
- Geopolitical misreading contributed to technology denial and global isolation.
- Domestic programme stagnated amid tightening non-proliferation regimes.
- Meanwhile, China and South Korea built globally competitive nuclear industries.
- India’s developmental and diplomatic influence consequently narrowed.
Strategic Pathways for India in AI Era
- India must rapidly expand compute capacity, research ecosystems, and skilled workforce.
- Regulatory clarity is essential for innovation confidence and investment flows.
- Deepen technology partnerships with U.S. and advanced economies.
- Simultaneously retain engagement flexibility across multiple geopolitical blocs.
- Contribute to global AI governance frameworks grounded in practical experience.
- Use AI domestically to advance development, indirectly empowering the Global South.
Conclusion
- AI geopolitics rewards nations that build domestically, collaborate internationally, and shape norms responsibly. India’s task is harmonising national capability with global responsibility, not choosing between them.