India AI Summit: Microsoft president outlines promise and responsibility of AI for Global South

Microsoft president Brad Smith has outlined both the promise and the responsibility that artificial intelligence holds for the Global South, placing particular emphasis on India’s role in the evolving technology landscape. In an interview to The Times of India, he highlighted the importance of digital sovereignty and called for deeper India-US collaboration through trade agreements that safeguard national interests while enabling cross-border innovation.

A recent diffusion report by Microsoft points to a widening AI adoption gap between advanced and developing economies. Adoption rates in the Global North stand at about 25%, compared with roughly 14% in the Global South. India performs slightly better, with adoption at more than 15%, though it remains closer to the Global South average.

Smith underscored the urgency of addressing this divide, noting that today’s biggest gap is economic, driven in part by unequal access to technology and electricity. To narrow this imbalance, Microsoft plans to spend $50 billion by the end of the decade to expand AI access across the Global South. The investment will prioritise skilling initiatives and the creation of measurement systems to track progress.


Within this broader push, India occupies a strong position. Smith described the country as one of the best-placed nations in the Global South, and in some respects globally, to benefit from the AI transition. He emphasised that human talent remains the most valuable natural resource, particularly software development expertise. Rather than diminishing the importance of developers, AI is expected to make them even more critical.

India is home to a large pool of highly skilled engineers, a factor reflected in its standing as Microsoft’s second-largest employee base worldwide, with 24,000 employees. Smith said the government should seize this opportunity by encouraging AI adoption and foreign investment, while also ensuring that digital sovereignty is protected.

On the debate around sovereign technology stacks, Smith argued for a balanced approach. He maintained that strengthening digital sovereignty is essential and said Microsoft remains committed to supporting that goal. Future India-US trade agreements, he suggested, should be built on reciprocity—keeping markets open while guaranteeing certainty of supply.

India’s engineers should be able to build software for the US market, while American technology companies should continue bringing innovation into India. By working together, the two countries can shape a new global framework that safeguards sovereignty without compromising collaboration.

Looking ahead, Smith said few countries can match India’s strengths in software development talent. He acknowledged that AI will reshape the labour market—boosting productivity, expanding economies and replacing some roles. However, he cautioned that ignoring this transformation would be unrealistic. With thoughtful leadership across technology, business and government, existing roles can evolve in positive ways.

Over the next 25 years, the economic impact of AI could become one of the defining global stories. The overarching objective, he said, should be to deploy AI in ways that create better jobs and brighter futures. Technology influences societies only to the extent that leaders allow it to, making it both a responsibility and an opportunity to ensure that AI ultimately serves people’s interests.