The tech bros might show more humility in Delhi but will they make AI any safer?

"The various Western powers jostled for pole position in Paris, and US vice president JD Vance delivered a blistering speech in which he said America's place at the top of the pack was non-negotiable. I suspect there may be a more humble vibe this week in Delhi: the capital of a country which has helped to build the foundations that support this mega-powerful new tech - but is not reaping as much reward as the more affluent west."

"There are some significant AI hubs in India, including in Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Mumbai. It has a large tech workforce, and has attracted some big infrastructure investments from the likes of Google, Nvidia and Amazon. In her book Empire of AI, the journalist Karen Hao writes about an unnamed firm in India which was contracted to do content moderation of AI-generated images: she claimed it included workers looking at horrifying ones to decide which should be blocked from being reproduced."

"According to the recruitment website Glassdoor, the average salary for an AI data trainer in Chennai is 480,000 rupees - less than 4,000 ($5,000) per year. It's an essential role, but to put this into perspective OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, is valued at over $500bn. Getty Images The 2026 International AI Safety Report notes that while "in some countries over 50% of the population uses AI, across much of Africa, Asia, and Latin America adoption rates likely remain below 10%.""

Western countries, notably the US and Europe, dominate public debate on artificial intelligence. A high-level AI summit is taking place in India, representing the Global South's stake in AI governance and the risk of being left behind. India hosts significant AI hubs in Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Mumbai, a large tech workforce, and infrastructure investments from Google, Nvidia and Amazon. Low-paid data trainers perform essential content-moderation work, with average Chennai salaries around 480,000 rupees (about $5,000) per year, while major AI firms command multibillion-dollar valuations. The 2026 International AI Safety Report estimates AI adoption exceeds 50% in some countries but likely remains below 10% across much of Africa, Asia and Latin America.

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