AI Summit Sets Inclusion And Opportunity As Priorities
Vijay Shekhar Sharma of Paytm presented the emergence of an AI India movement and framed the moment as a source of national pride while noting a shift from novelty to impact. He said artificial intelligence is increasingly applied in business, finance, agriculture and industry to solve real-world problems at scale. In financial services he outlined the potential for AI driven insights to deepen credit access and extend meaningful inclusion to the last mile, describing the development as a path to abundance rather than job loss.
Ananya Birla of Birla AI Labs outlined a dual mandate combining applied solutions for industry with foundational research that probes whether AI understands the structure of the world beyond pattern recognition. She urged industry to examine the effect of AI on human cognition and agency while embedding models across operations to unlock productivity gains. Birla highlighted microfinance as a space where AI can be most consequential for people, suggesting that careful deployment could expand financial access for underserved communities.
Takahito Tokita, President and CEO of Fujitsu, framed AI within a societal mission focused on sustainability and building trust through innovation, stressing a human-centric approach. He argued that AI must augment creativity, critical thinking and complex judgment rather than replace human autonomy. Together the speakers reinforced a shared theme that the next phase of AI will be judged by its ability to expand opportunity, deepen inclusion and strengthen human potential, positioning India and global industry leaders at the forefront of an AI driven future.