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International Relations February 19, 2026 5 min read Daily brief · #34 of 75

‘Technology with humanity’: French President Macron pitches for inclusive AI future

French President Emmanuel Macron, addressing the India AI Impact Summit 2026 in New Delhi, called for inclusive and cooperative development of artificial int...

GS2 (International Relations) GS3 (Science & Technology — AI Digital Governance)

What Happened

  • French President Emmanuel Macron, addressing the India AI Impact Summit 2026 in New Delhi, called for inclusive and cooperative development of artificial intelligence, urging nations to resist digital fragmentation
  • Macron said France and India share a common vision for developing "sovereign AI" to protect the planet and foster prosperity for all
  • He praised India's Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) as unmatched globally, stating "India built what no other country could"
  • Macron emphasised that AI has become a matter of strategic competition, with chips and GPUs now directly tied to geopolitics
  • He contrasted India's deliberate sovereign choice of small language models with Europe's focus on large models, calling both valid approaches to digital sovereignty
  • Europe, Macron declared, will be a "safe space" for AI innovation, shaped by rules determined collaboratively with allies

Static Topic Bridges

Concept of Sovereign AI and Digital Sovereignty

Sovereign AI refers to a nation's capability to develop, deploy, and control AI systems using its own infrastructure, data, and talent — without critical dependence on foreign technology providers. The concept has gained prominence as AI becomes a strategic asset comparable to nuclear capability or space technology in its geopolitical significance.

  • Sovereign AI encompasses: indigenous AI models (trained on local languages and data), domestic compute infrastructure (data centres, GPUs), and national regulatory frameworks
  • India's approach: India unveiled three sovereign AI models at the summit — Sarvam AI's 30-billion and 105-billion parameter models trained for Indian languages, and BharatGen (a generative AI model for Indian content)
  • France's approach: France invested EUR 1.5 billion in AI through its national AI strategy (2018, updated 2021); hosts leading AI labs (Mistral AI, Hugging Face headquarters)
  • China's approach: self-reliance in AI chips (Huawei Ascend) after US export controls on advanced semiconductors (October 2022 restrictions on NVIDIA A100/H100 GPUs)
  • The Global South concern: without sovereign AI capabilities, developing nations risk becoming consumers of AI developed by a handful of companies in the US and China, perpetuating digital colonialism
  • India's IndiaAI Mission (March 2024): INR 10,372 crore allocated for building AI compute capacity (10,000 GPU infrastructure), developing foundational models, and skilling

Connection to this news: Macron's advocacy for sovereign AI at an Indian-hosted summit reflects a shared French-Indian concern about concentration of AI power in US and Chinese tech giants, and the strategic imperative for both nations to develop indigenous AI capabilities.

India's Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) — A Global Model

India's DPI stack — comprising Aadhaar (digital identity), UPI (digital payments), and DigiLocker/ABDM (digital documents and health records) — has been recognised globally as a model for inclusive technology deployment at population scale. This infrastructure provides the data foundation on which India's AI ambitions are built.

  • Aadhaar: world's largest biometric identity system; 1.4+ billion enrolments; operated by UIDAI (est. 2009, statutory authority under Aadhaar Act, 2016)
  • UPI (Unified Payments Interface): processed over 14 billion transactions per month (2025); developed by NPCI (National Payments Corporation of India)
  • India Stack: open API-based approach enabling digital identity, payments, data sharing, and e-signatures as interoperable public goods
  • International adoption: UPI linkages with Singapore (PayNow-UPI, February 2023), UAE, France, and other countries; India actively promoting DPI at G20 (held G20 presidency in 2023)
  • The G20 New Delhi Declaration (2023) included a specific section on Digital Public Infrastructure, reflecting India's advocacy
  • India's Account Aggregator framework (2021): enables consent-based sharing of financial data — a key enabler for AI-driven credit and financial inclusion models

Connection to this news: Macron's praise of India's DPI as "what no other country could build" recognises that India's open, interoperable digital infrastructure provides a blueprint for how emerging economies can develop AI applications on a sovereign digital foundation.

AI Governance — From Safety to Impact

The global AI governance landscape has evolved rapidly through a series of international summits and frameworks. The trajectory has moved from safety (Bletchley Park, 2023) to action (Paris, 2025) to impact (India, 2026), reflecting a shift from risk-focused governance to deployment-focused outcomes.

  • Bletchley Park AI Safety Summit (UK, November 2023): 28 countries signed the Bletchley Declaration; established AI Safety Institutes in the UK and US; focused on frontier model risks
  • Paris AI Action Summit (France, February 2025): emphasis on deployment, regulation, and international cooperation; expanded participation beyond Western nations
  • India AI Impact Summit (February 2026): focus on measurable outcomes, Global South inclusion, and sovereign AI development; 100+ countries
  • EU AI Act (entered into force August 2024): world's first comprehensive AI law; risk-based classification (unacceptable, high, limited, minimal risk); prohibits social scoring, real-time biometric surveillance (with exceptions)
  • India's approach: no dedicated AI legislation yet; relies on sector-specific regulation, the DPDPA 2023, and IT Act 2000; a principles-based approach emphasising responsible AI deployment rather than prescriptive regulation
  • OECD AI Principles (2019): adopted by over 50 countries; non-binding guidelines on transparency, accountability, and human-centric AI
  • Global Partnership on AI (GPAI): India is a founding member (2020); merger with OECD AI policy work in 2024

Connection to this news: Macron's advocacy for "technology with humanity" and India's focus on "AI for Impact" together represent a counter-narrative to the US and Chinese tech-dominance model, proposing that AI governance should prioritise inclusive development and democratic values.

Key Facts & Data

  • India AI Impact Summit 2026: February 16-20 (extended to 21), Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi
  • Over 35,000 registrations from 100+ countries
  • India unveiled 3 sovereign AI models: Sarvam AI (30B and 105B parameters), BharatGen
  • IndiaAI Mission: INR 10,372 crore for 10,000 GPU infrastructure, foundational models, and skilling
  • France invested EUR 1.5 billion in national AI strategy (2018, updated 2021)
  • UPI processes 14+ billion transactions per month (2025)
  • Aadhaar covers 1.4+ billion individuals — world's largest biometric identity system
  • EU AI Act: entered into force August 2024 — world's first comprehensive AI legislation
  • AI summit evolution: Bletchley Park (2023, Safety) to Paris (2025, Action) to India (2026, Impact)
  • India is a founding member of GPAI (Global Partnership on AI, 2020)
On this page
  1. What Happened
  2. Static Topic Bridges
  3. Concept of Sovereign AI and Digital Sovereignty
  4. India's Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) — A Global Model
  5. AI Governance — From Safety to Impact
  6. Key Facts & Data
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