New Delhi Declaration: A new era for sovereign AI and digital equity

The 2026 AI Impact Summit in New Delhi has concluded with a sweeping vision for the democratization of technology, signaling a shift in the global digital order.

As developing nations seek to dismantle the long-standing algorithm hegemony of Silicon Valley, the summit emerged as a platform for the Global South to assert its technological sovereignty. At the heart of the discussions was the concept of "Sovereign AI" – the idea that nations must control their own data, compute resources and cultural narratives rather than relying on imported black-box models.

India leveraged the event to showcase its unique governance model, which integrates AI into public digital infrastructure to drive social equity. By focusing on "AI for All," the host nation aims to balance rapid economic growth with grassroots empowerment.

Parallel to this, the Chinese delegation led by Vice Minister of Science and Technology Chen Jiachang championed the country's Global AI Governance Initiative. The Chinese model emphasizes a multi-polar governance system that respects national sovereignty while promoting massive-scale industrial application.

Together, these approaches offer a roadmap for emerging economies to bypass Western-centric ethics in favor of a pragmatism that prioritizes poverty alleviation and infrastructure resilience.

Despite the high-level policy successes, the event was marred by logistical friction. Local media reports highlighted organizational lapses, including severe traffic congestion that paralyzed parts of the capital. More embarrassing were the "technical malfunctions" on display – most notably when a local university was ridiculed for presenting a Chinese-made robot dog as a domestic breakthrough.

These stumbles could not overshadow the summit's primary achievement. The signing of the New Delhi Declaration by more than 80 nations marks a significant expansion of global efforts to ensure that the benefits of intelligence are distributed equitably. This pivot toward decentralized, sovereign technological power suggests that the future of the digital world will be defined not by a single Western standard, but by a diverse array of competing and collaborating local innovations.