‘We Are Measuring AI’s Positive and Negative Impact on Society,’ Says Ashwini Vaishnaw

With global tech leaders converging in New Delhi for the India AI Impact Summit, Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw articulated a clear position on the future of artificial intelligence, calling for a balance between its positive and negative impacts on society.

“We are measuring AI’s impact on human society. There are positive impacts across sectors like agriculture, weather forecasting, climate change, etc. At the same time, there are potentially negative impacts as well,” said Vaishnaw while speaking at the official satellite event of the India AI Impact Summit 2026.

He asked, “How do we balance the two, ensuring we maximise the benefits while containing the harms? That is what we intend to cover over the next few days.”

India’s AI approach, he indicated, is rooted in strengthening human capital and creative capability. “AI should be used as a tool. It should not become a competitor to human creativity. We believe human creativity is the most important thing that we have in our entire civilisation. So, we must protect it.”

Speaking about intellectual property (IP), Vaishnaw acknowledged the complexities between artificial intelligence and copyright. “Given that the challenges between AI and copyright are complex, we are looking at some sort of consensus at this summit.”

He also raised questions about foundational models trained on publicly available content. “Is this model the right way of rewarding the creators? Are there more improvements to be made? Are the right guardrails being created?”

On this issue, the IT Minister said simple regulatory fixes would not suffice, as that would require a lot of consensus-building, new technological tools, and additional elements.

Instead, Vaishnaw said India is advocating “techno-legal solutions”, which combine legal safeguards with technical guardrails embedded within AI systems. Importantly, he stressed that the process will require consensus-building across different countries.

He further flagged broader societal risks such as misinformation, disinformation, and deepfakes, which are attacking the foundations of society, warning that such developments strike at institutional trust. “Addressing these threats will again require both technological and legal responses, along with shared responsibility across stakeholders.”

During the event, Vaishnaw also announced that India will soon launch a “Create in India” mission, which will focus on strengthening the country’s creative economy while embedding responsible AI practices into its growth story.

“We will be launching a Create in India mission, like the semiconductor mission. This mission will be industry-oriented, employment-oriented, and future-oriented,” he said, noting that the government’s approach is rooted in enabling creators and protecting IP.

“We believe in the value that creators bring, through their content and their unique ways of telling stories,” he added.

The government has recently announced the setting up of Content Creator Labs in 15,000 schools and colleges across the country. These labs are expected to equip students with world-class creative and AI tools, broadening the talent pipeline and enabling continuous upskilling of the existing workforce.

Last year, India also started the Indian Institute of Creative Technologies (IICT), the country’s first dedicated institution for creative technology on the lines of the Indian Institutes of Technology and the Indian Institutes of Management.

The satellite campus of IICT was started in Maharashtra in July 2025, offering 18 industry-driven courses in the AVGC-XR sector.