Keynote-Rishi Sunak
19 Feb 2026 16:00h - 16:15h
Keynote-Rishi Sunak
Summary
The event opened with Speaker 1 introducing former UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak as the architect of the original AI Safety Summit at Bletchley Park and inviting him to share his views [1-6]. Sunak began by noting that while AI can perform many tasks, it cannot replicate the human sense of wonder, and he created the 2023 AI Leaders Summit as a forum for heads of state, CEOs and technologists to discuss how to steer the technology toward humanity’s benefit [7][9-11]. He highlighted that the inaugural summit placed safety at its core and that Frontier Labs, in partnership with the AI Security Institute, now test AI models before deployment to ensure they are safe [12-13]. Sunak argued that trust in AI will be won or lost in the public sector, where faster services and better healthcare make the debate concrete rather than abstract [20-21]. He warned that the speed of AI change will outpace expectations, comparing the adoption curves of the telephone, personal computer and internet to the two-month rise of ChatGPT, and called for a regular international forum to manage this pace [22-29]. Under Prime Minister Modi’s leadership, the current summit aims to demonstrate how AI can serve both developed and developing nations, improving health, education and human dignity worldwide [30-35].
Sunak emphasized that the AI conversation is shifting from pure technology to national strategy, and that collective effort is essential, noting India’s high mobile and AI tool usage and its status as the second-largest contributor to AI projects on GitHub [36-44]. He pointed to India’s digital public infrastructure-Aadhaar, UPI and Ayushman Bharat-which provides a verified foundation for AI services to reach 1.4 billion people [45-46]. The speaker praised India’s vibrant startup ecosystem, which has produced over 125 unicorns such as Sarvam AI, and highlighted the country’s culture of frugal innovation that enabled a lunar mission at a fraction of typical costs [47-48]. Citing a Stanford ranking, Sunak said India now ranks among the top global AI powers, surpassing the UK, and stressed that the true competition is for “everyday AI” adoption rather than a race to achieve AGI [52-55][58-62].
He linked AI adoption to solving pressing global challenges, noting that increasing food production by 70 % and addressing shortages of health workers and teachers will require AI-driven solutions [64-67]. As examples, he described AgroSmart’s AI platform that raises crop yields by 20 % while halving water and energy use, and Kenya’s text-message service that provides prenatal care to three million women at a cost of 74 cents each, saving lives [69-71][76-78]. He also highlighted MindSpark, an AI-powered tutoring system reaching half a million Indian pupils, doubling learning rates with only a tablet and modest monthly fees [85-88]. Concluding, Sunak asserted that AI will deliver economic gains twice those of the Industrial Revolution, raise the floor for humanity by democratizing health and education, and that the summit’s legacy will be a safer, more inclusive AI future [89-96][98].
Keypoints
– AI safety must be paired with rapid, responsible development, and regular international forums are essential for this balance. Sunak stresses that the original AI Safety Summit at Bletchley Park set a precedent for safety-first discussions and that “we need a regular forum where we can all meet and discuss this technology” [7-12][28-30].
– India is positioned as a global AI leader because of its digital infrastructure, large-scale user base, and cultural optimism toward technology. He cites India’s “digital public infrastructure… Aadhar, UPI and now Ayushman Bharat” reaching 1.4 billion people, its status as the “second largest contributor to AI projects on GitHub,” and the fact that “almost 9 out of 10 Indians are optimistic about AI” [43-48][52-53].
– AI is presented as a practical solution to pressing development challenges-food security, health, and education-through concrete examples. He outlines how AI can increase crop yields while cutting resource use (AgroSmart) [64-71], reduce maternal mortality via text-based health advice in Kenya [72-78], and double learning outcomes for half-a-million Indian pupils with low-cost tablets (MindSpark) [84-88].
– The real competition is not who builds AGI first but who adopts “everyday AI” most effectively, turning technology into widespread societal benefit. Sunak argues that “leadership in technology does not only depend on who invents it, but on how effectively it is deployed and adopted” and that “adoption is all” for winning the AI race [55-63].
– Public-sector trust and visible service improvements are crucial for broader AI acceptance. He notes that “the public sector is where trust in AI will really be won or lost” and that faster services, better healthcare, and simpler government interactions make the AI debate “real rather than abstract” [20-22][31-34].
Overall purpose/goal
The discussion aims to rally international and Indian stakeholders around a vision of AI that is safe, widely adopted, and leveraged to “raise the floor for humanity.” By highlighting India’s strengths, showcasing tangible AI applications for development goals, and calling for continued collaborative summits, Sunak seeks to position the summit as a catalyst for responsible, inclusive AI deployment worldwide.
Overall tone
The tone is consistently upbeat and persuasive, beginning with formal reverence for the former prime minister, moving into an optimistic celebration of India’s tech ecosystem, then shifting to a data-driven, hopeful exposition of AI’s societal benefits, and culminating in a visionary, inspirational call to action. Throughout, the language remains celebratory and forward-looking, with occasional repetitive emphasis (“We are all in this together”) that reinforces the rallying-cry nature of the speech.
Speakers
– Speaker 1
– Role/Title: Event moderator / host introducing the keynote speaker[S1][S3]
– Area of Expertise:
– Rishi Sunak
– Role/Title: Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom; Right Honorable[S6]
– Area of Expertise: Politics, AI policy and governance
Additional speakers:
– (none)
1. Introduction (Speaker 1) – Speaker 1 formally introduced the former UK Prime Minister, the Right Honorable Rishi Sunak, as the architect of the inaugural AI Safety Summit held at Bletchley Park, and invited him to address the audience [1-6].
2. Sunak’s opening remarks – Sunak contrasted the limitless capabilities of artificial intelligence with uniquely human experiences of wonder-citing Delhi’s Red Fort, a sweet laddu, and the thrill of a cricket shot-as things AI can never replicate. He noted that in 2023 he launched the first AI leaders summit as a multistakeholder forum for presidents, prime ministers, CEOs, CTOs and developers to steer AI toward humanity’s benefit [7-9].
3. Safety focus – He highlighted that Frontier Labs, in partnership with the AI Security Institute, now rigorously tests AI models before deployment to mitigate emerging risks [10-13].
4. Why a standing forum is needed – Sunak argued that trust in AI will be won or lost where citizens directly feel its impact-faster public services, improved healthcare and simpler government interactions [14-16]. He warned that the diffusion of AI is unprecedented: the telephone took 75 years, the personal computer 15 years, the internet seven years to reach 100 million users, whereas ChatGPT did so in just two months [17-22]. Consequently, he called for a continuous international forum, such as this summit, to provide ongoing oversight and coordination of safety measures.
5. Summit under Prime Minister Modi – Under Modi’s leadership, the summit aims to demonstrate that AI can serve both developed and developing economies, enhancing health, education and human dignity worldwide [23-25].
6. India’s AI ecosystem – Sunak highlighted India’s strategic advantages: a massive, data-rich user base, the second-largest contribution to AI projects on GitHub, and a digital public infrastructure (Aadhaar, UPI, Ayushman Bharat) that already reaches 1.4 billion people. He noted that almost nine in ten Indians are optimistic about AI and that a recent Stanford ranking places India ahead of the UK among global AI powers. The vibrant startup ecosystem has produced over 125 unicorns, including Sarvam AI, exemplifying frugal innovation capable of sending a lunar mission at a fraction of typical costs [30-48].
7. Strategic shift – Sunak said the AI debate is moving from a focus on what the tools can do to what countries can do with them [55-58]. He likened today’s AI hub in San Francisco to historic Mainz, noting that India is playing the role the Dutch Republic once did in the printing-press era [59-61]. He emphasized that nations and companies that “adopt, adopt, adopt” will become the biggest winners in the AI race.
8. Concrete AI-driven solutions
– Agriculture: AgroSmart’s platform raises crop yields by 20 % while halving water and energy use [64-66].
– Health: A Kenyan text-message service delivers prenatal advice in local languages to three million women at a cost of $0.74 per patient, flagging high-risk cases and saving lives [67-70].
– Education: MindSpark, an AI-powered tutoring system, reaches half a million Indian pupils via low-cost tablets, doubling learning rates for only a few dollars per month [71-74].
9. Global challenges & SDG funding gap – These examples illustrate how AI can help close the $4 trillion funding gap for the Sustainable Development Goals, meet the projected 70 % increase in food production needed for a 10-billion-person world, and alleviate looming shortages of health workers, teachers and other essential professionals [75-78].
10. Conclusion – Sunak projected that AI will generate economic gains twice the magnitude of the Industrial Revolution in half the time and that its greatest achievement will be “raising the floor for humanity.” He envisioned rural clinics offering specialist care, small-holder farmers accessing world-class agronomy, and every child receiving personalized tutoring-achieving the most extensive democratisation of knowledge in history. Drawing on his personal connection as the son of a doctor and the grandson of someone born in rural Tanzania, he underscored the profound improvement in health and happiness that AI can deliver, framing the summit’s legacy as a safer, more inclusive AI future for all [89-92].
Ladies and gentlemen, we are honored to have the Right Honorable Rishi Sunak with us. Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Mr. Rishi Sunak, he was the force behind hosting the landmark AI Safety Summit at Bletchley Park, the point where the international conversation on AI safety truly began. He understands, perhaps better than almost anyone, how technology intersects with geopolitics, with democratic institutions, and with the everyday lives of citizens. And of course, we are honored to have you here with us, sir. May I please invite Former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on the stage to share his views on the summit. Please welcome with applause, the Right Honorable Rishi Sunak.
Thank you. Namaste, thank you it’s such a privilege and indeed a pleasure to be with you today now as we’ve been hearing all week in Delhi artificial intelligence can do many things but it will never replicate that sense of wonder that you feel seeing the Red Fort the pleasure that you get from biting into a sweet laddu or if I can say this here in Delhi the joy you get from watching RCB’s Smriti Mandana hit the perfect drive now when I launched the first AI leaders summit in 2023 I created that summit to be a forum where we could all from Presidents and Prime Ministers to CEOs and CTOs, to developers and development specialists, come together, share the latest advances, and work out how to ensure that we tip the balance of this technology in favor of humanity.
So I’m grateful that South Korea, France, and now India have taken up the baton. Back at Bletchley, we committed ourselves to an AI future that worked for humanity. And that is why the first summit began with safety. There were risks, new risks, that we knew that we must avoid. And I’m proud that the Frontier Labs today are working with our AI Security Institute to test models before they are deployed, ensuring their safety. But I also knew that AI progress and AI safety went hand in hand. It is by showing the world that this technology is safe that we can make a difference. And I’m proud that the Frontier Labs today are working with us to help us make a difference.
And I’m proud that the Frontier Labs today are working with us to help us make a difference. And I’m proud that the Frontier Labs today are working with us to help us make a difference. And I’m proud that the Frontier Labs today are working with us to help us make a difference. And I’m proud that the Frontier Labs today are working with that will be able to fully reap the benefits of it. And the public sector is where trust in AI will really be won or lost. When people see faster services, better healthcare, simpler interactions with government, that’s when the debate about AI becomes real rather than abstract. Now, the pace of change that we’re about to see is going to be quicker than anybody realises.
I truly believe that there is nothing in our lifetimes that will be more transformative for our economies, for our societies, indeed all our lives, than artificial intelligence. But we do have to appreciate how quickly this is happening. From the invention of the telephone, it took around 75 years to get to 100 million users. It took the PC. 15 years. The internet, seven years. So how long did it take ChatGPT? Two months. So we do need a regular forum where we can all meet and discuss this technology and that is what this summit provides. Under Prime Minister Modi’s leadership, this summit will deliver impact. It will show us how we can make AI work not just for the developed world but for the developing world too.
How it can improve health and education in every corner of the globe. How it can enhance human dignity. How it can raise the floor for humanity. And there is no better place to discuss this AI transformation than India. The AI debate is moving from technology to strategy, from what these tools can do to what countries can do. And we are all in this together. We are all in this together. We are all in this together. We are all in this together. We are all in this together. We are all in this together. Indians are among the world’s most prolific users of both mobile data and AI tools. You are the second largest contributor to AI projects on GitHub anywhere.
The India Stack has shown people how technology can benefit them in their everyday lives. This digital public infrastructure, Aadhar, UPI and now Ayushman Bharat health accounts provide universal digitally verified foundations on which AI applications can now reach 1 .4 billion people. The energy that I’ve seen this week, the young people that I’ve spoken to, are testament to the vibrant startup ecosystem here in India, which has produced over 125 unicorns with new fantastic businesses like Sarvam AI leading the way. A remarkable culture of frugal innovation is why India could send Chandranayan to the moon for less than the cost of making the movie interstellar. And no country will realise the benefits of AI if its citizens are fearful of it.
Because people don’t adopt a technology that they are scared of. Again, India has huge advantages here. At a time of mounting AI pessimism in the West, this nation stands out for the fact that almost 9 out of 10 Indians are optimistic about AI. And all of this is why, in the latest Stanford University ranking of global AI powers, India has overtaken the UK into the medal places. Although I should say, England remain just ahead in the ICC test rankings. Now, the sprint to be the first company and indeed the first country to achieve AGI dominates our headlines. But what India shows is that the real race is the race for everyday AI, to spread this technology throughout your economy and society.
History teaches us that leadership in technology does not only depend on who invents it, but on how effectively it is deployed and adopted in your country. Take the printing press, invented in 1440 in Mainz in Germany, but, as Jeffrey Ding shows in his book Technology and the Great Powers, it was the Dutch Republic that extracted the most value from it, and in turn became the publishing powerhouse of the world. Now, San Francisco may be today’s Mainz, but it is increasingly India that is doing what the Dutch Republic did. It is the Dutch Republic that has done what the Dutch Republic did so effectively, and maximizing the benefits of this new technology. Because when it comes to AI, adoption is all.
It will be those countries and those companies that adopt, adopt, adopt who will be the biggest winners. Now India can also lead the way on showing how AI can address the great challenges of our time and raise the floor for humanity. If we are to feed a global population of 10 billion people in 2050, food production must increase by 70%. By 2030, we will have a global shortage of 11 million health workers and 44 million teachers, meaning hundreds of millions won’t get the care or education they need. And there is already a $4 trillion funding gap for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. These problems threaten to cause famine and hardship, to destroy the human potential of billions. and to make the world an ever more unequal place.
But AI can and is helping us solve these problems and at a fraction of the cost. Look at how AgroSmart is enabling farmers in Latin America to access on their phones, in their fields, the kind of up -to -date weather and soil information that up to now has been the preserve of the largest commercial producers and the results have been sensational. It is boosting crop yields by a fifth while halving water and energy use. Now this technology offers the chance to achieve a breakthrough in agricultural productivity on the scale of India’s green revolution and if AI helps us achieve this, we truly can feed the world. Now for most of human history, the most dangerous thing a woman could do is give birth.
One in 18 married women died from childbirth in 17th century England. That number has fallen by 99 % today, but in sub -Saharan Africa, maternal mortality is comparable to what it was in England four centuries ago. And AI can help us tackle this inequality. Take the prompt service in Kenya, which offers 3 million pregnant women health advice by text message in their own language. The AI can flag high -risk cases and ensure that they quickly get the healthcare and medical care they need. For 74 cents a patient, this technology is saving lives and tackling one of the great injustices of our time. Now no country has become healthier. And wealthier without expanding education. As Kofi Annan reminded us, knowledge is the key to success.
is power. Information is liberating. Education is the premise of progress in every society, in every family. But today, too many children lack access to quality teaching and resources. And again, AI can and is changing that. Take MindSpark, which is teaching half a million pupils already in India. These children are being provided with personalized lessons in just the way that the most privileged children in developed countries are. And for just a few dollars a month, their rate of learning has doubled. The genius of this technology is that it doesn’t require super fast broadband and a fancy laptop, but just a simple tablet with preloaded content that draws on 20 years of research and 5 billion student interactions. think of the dreams that are being sparked by this the human potential that will no longer be wasted so in conclusion today we can see the bletchley so in conclusion today we can see the bletchley vision of an AI that favours humanity becoming a reality we’re seizing the opportunities of the greatest breakthrough of our time while giving our citizens the peace of mind that we will keep them safe AI will deliver huge economic gains it will have twice the impact of the industrial revolution in just half the time but what we are seeing here at this summit is how AI will raise the floor for humanity rural clinics will soon be able to offer the same level of medical expertise as big teaching hospitals as the son of a doctor and a doctor and as the parent of two girls blessed with the best medical care the world can provide, as the grandson of someone born in rural Tanzania, I know what a difference this will make.
It will lead to an improvement in human health and happiness that we have not seen before. Farmers on their small holdings will be able to call on the combined expertise of the world’s best agronomists and soil scientists. In the greatest step forward ever for equality of opportunity, every child will now have access to a personalized tutor. It won’t matter if you’re born in the Lutyens bungalow zone or in Ali Rajpur, you will, thanks to this technology, have the same educational opportunities. It will be the greatest democratization of knowledge ever. Friends, you This is the new world that we are entering. Never before in human history will so many people receive a boost to their quality of life.
That will be this technology’s greatest achievement. And that will be your legacy. Thank you.
“In 2023 Sunak launched the first AI leaders summit as a multistakeholder forum for presidents, prime ministers, CEOs, CTOs and developers”
Sources describe the 2023 summit as a multistakeholder gathering of world leaders, CEOs and developers designed to steer AI toward humanity’s benefit [S4] and [S7].
“Frontier Labs, in partnership with the AI Security Institute, now rigorously tests AI models before deployment to mitigate emerging risks”
The knowledge base mentions a “Frontier safety framework” used by Google DeepMind for pre-deployment testing, indicating that Frontier-related safety testing is underway, though it does not name Frontier Labs or the AI Security Institute specifically [S8].
“ChatGPT reached 100 million users in just two months”
Data in the knowledge base shows ChatGPT achieved 100 million users within two months of launch, confirming the rapid diffusion claim [S65].
“Under Prime Minister Modi’s leadership, the summit aims to demonstrate that AI can serve both developed and developing economies, enhancing health, education and human dignity worldwide”
The AI Impact Summit in New Delhi is described as operating under India’s leadership with a focus on “people, planet, and progress,” aligning with the stated goals of serving diverse economies and improving health and education [S9].
The transcript shows clear convergence between the host and the keynote on three core themes: Sunak’s leadership in launching the original Bletchley AI Safety Summit, the priority of AI safety testing through Frontier Labs, and the necessity of a recurring international forum to sustain safety dialogue. Both also agree on the summit’s multistakeholder composition.
High consensus – the two speakers are aligned on the purpose, structure, and safety emphasis of the summit, signalling strong political and technical backing for coordinated AI governance.
The transcript shows a high degree of consensus: Speaker 1’s introductory remarks align with Sunak’s framing of the summit and his leadership role. No substantive conflict or opposing viewpoints are presented.
Minimal disagreement; the discussion is largely affirming and complementary, indicating strong alignment on the objectives of AI safety, multistakeholder collaboration, and the strategic importance of the summit.
Rishi Sunak’s remarks moved the discussion from abstract safety concerns to a concrete, strategic, and human‑centred narrative. By juxtaposing rapid adoption timelines, historical analogies, and vivid Indian data, he reframed AI as a geopolitical lever and a tool for inclusive development. Each pivotal comment introduced a new dimension—public‑sector trust, speed of diffusion, national strategy, India’s optimism and ranking, the importance of adoption over invention, the shift from AGI hype to everyday AI, and tangible impact stories—that collectively redirected the summit’s focus toward actionable collaboration and equitable deployment. These insights shaped the conversation’s tone, broadened its scope, and set a foundation for deeper policy and partnership dialogues.
Disclaimer: This is not an official session record. DiploAI generates these resources from audiovisual recordings, and they are presented as-is, including potential errors. Due to logistical challenges, such as discrepancies in audio/video or transcripts, names may be misspelled. We strive for accuracy to the best of our ability.
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