ET Under 40 2026: As AI races ahead, leaders urged to put purpose above success

As artificial intelligence (AI) races ahead and machines become increasingly central to human life, the real measure of success may lie not in what individuals achieve but in the purpose they serve and the impact they leave behind, Sivakumar Sundaram, CEO, The Times of India, said at The Economic Times 40 Under Forty awards ceremony on Friday.

In his welcome address, Sundaram drew on epics such as the Odyssey and the Mahabharata to make a case for pausing and reflecting amid an age defined by speed and technological competition. The enduring question, he said, was not "What did I achieve?" but "What did my life stand for, what purpose did I serve and how many lives were different because I was here?" "That to me is a true measure of success," Sundaram said. He turned to the rapid development of AI, describing the race for supremacy as "the AI race." Sundaram referred to concerns over increasingly capable machines and the challenge of ensuring that AI systems remain aligned with human values and under human control.

"For the first time in history, there is an intelligence which is far more superior to us," he said.


Sundaram also warned that technology had already begun reshaping human behaviour in more immediate ways. "I am not certain whether they will kill us but most certainly they will make a slave of us because we already have one such instrument with us-our own mobile screens because we all look down and have stopped looking up."

Addressing the awardees, Sundaram said recognition should be viewed not as an end point but as an indication of what lay ahead. "You are not here because you have arrived, you are here because of what you have already demonstrated and, far more importantly, what lies ahead," he said. "Getting on this list is one thing, staying here is the tricky part."