AI Impact Summit Falls Short on Rights Protections, Amnesty International Reports

New Delhi, India – The recent AI Impact Summit, held in New Delhi from February 16th to 20th, 2026, drew criticism from Amnesty International for failing to address critical human rights concerns surrounding the deployment of artificial intelligence. The organization asserts that the summit’s rhetoric contrasted sharply with the realities of AI’s harmful applications, particularly in India.

AI and Authoritarian Practices in India

Erika Guevara Rosas, Senior Director of Research, Advocacy Policy and Campaigns at Amnesty International, stated that AI systems in India are increasingly being used to power a state-led agenda that entrenches state and corporate control. This trend, according to Amnesty International, is leading to a shrinking civic space and disproportionately harming marginalized communities who are often demonized by these systems.

While India has been praised for its technological advancements, Amnesty International contends that the human rights implications of these technologies were largely ignored during the summit. The organization’s research highlights the threats posed by technologies like facial recognition and automation to the right to privacy and social protection. These technologies have been linked to discrimination and the exclusion of vulnerable populations. Systems of mass surveillance are also expanding within a context already marked by rights abuses.

A Global Race to Accumulate Power

The summit’s emphasis on sovereignty, innovation, and “democratisation” contributes to a global trend of prioritizing power accumulation and economic growth over collective global action, according to Amnesty International. The organization argues that meaningful progress requires strong civil society and impacted community engagement, which was notably absent from the summit’s proceedings.

Lack of Binding Regulations

Amnesty International has consistently warned that AI summits have failed to deliver the necessary regulations for a digitally safe future. The organization believes these gatherings have largely been ineffective in advancing binding rights protections and safeguards, instead promoting “techno-solutionist” narratives and strengthening alliances between industry and government. The gap between state action to protect rights and the unchecked power of the AI industry continues to widen.

Call for Urgent Course Correction

“States must urgently course-correct the current AI trajectory,” Rosas emphasized. Amnesty International is calling for the adoption of binding regulations that prohibit technologies incompatible with human rights and the creation of mechanisms for meaningful public participation in shaping the future of AI.

Previous Amnesty International Findings

Amnesty International’s concerns are rooted in prior research. In 2024, the organization documented how automated systems in the Indian state of Telangana excluded thousands from accessing essential social protection measures, including food security, income support, and housing. In 2021, Amnesty International investigated the human rights impacts of facial recognition technology in Hyderabad, India.

The organization has also raised concerns about the leverage of technology developed by Palantir and Babel Street, highlighting potential surveillance threats to pro-Palestine student protestors and migrants [Amnesty USA] and the use of AI by US authorities to surveil protestors [France24], [ABC27].