AI benefits for Global South and India can be huge: Anthropic CEO

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei said artificial intelligence could bring major economic benefits to India and the Global South. Speaking in New Delhi, he highlighted strong technical talent, rapid adoption and the need for safe and responsible AI systems

New Delhi: Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei on Thursday said the benefits of AI in the Global South are more pronounced than anywhere else in the world, emphasising that India’s considerable technical expertise and eagerness to adopt AI present significant growth potential.

In a fireside chat at the AI Impact Summit 2026, Amodei said that while AI adoption has the potential to boost growth, there is a need to ensure that AI systems are safe, predictable and behave autonomously in a way that is under human control.

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Stating that AI can be used to accelerate economic growth if AI developers and those who do medical research can work together in India, which has a large population base, he said cooperation is essential.

“There is so much technical potential and technical adaptability in India. It actually almost seems like a perfect case study for the idea that AI could really accelerate economic growth, because it seems like the base ingredients are all there, and AI could help to tie them together,” Amodei said.

He said that in the developed world, AI usage could lead to a 10 percent economic growth rate.

“Here in India, there is a lot of catch-up growth to be done. There is an enormous amount of technical potential and ability and, as I am seeing, there is this eagerness to adopt AI. So, India is one of the few places in the world where I wonder could there be 20 or 25 percent growth, which sounds absurd and is unknown anywhere in the world, but as I think about this, it stacks all the factors for a very bullish picture of how that growth could happen,” he said.

Talking about artificial intelligence adoption in the Global South, Amodei said there is an opportunity for AI to accelerate growth and solve many problems that are in the way of catch-up growth.

“AI is technology that has big risks and big benefits, but in the Global South, the benefits may be even bigger than they are anywhere else. At the same time, that does not mean that the risks are not real,” he said.

Amodei said, “We need to think about how democracies handle AI and how we confront other countries that are authoritarian. That is one of the risks.”

Another risk would be to ensure that AI systems are safe, predictable and behave autonomously in a way that is under human control.

“Everyone in the world has to worry about that. Of particular relevance to India are the concerns raised around economic displacement. The signature of this technology is that it greatly grows the economic pie for the whole world. The huge upside is because of the opportunity for catch-up growth, but things are going to change and there is some potential for disruption,” Amodei said.