India will play a central role in shaping how artificial intelligence (AI) evolves globally — from unlocking economic growth to managing emerging risks — Dario Amodei, Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Anthropic, said on Thursday.
Delivering a keynote address at the India AI Impact Summit, Amodei said India has “an absolutely central role to play” in addressing both the opportunities and challenges posed by AI. He noted that technologies and governance practices pioneered in India have historically set benchmarks for the Global South, helping diffuse innovation and humanitarian gains across developing economies.
Amodei said AI holds the promise of significant breakthroughs in healthcare and poverty reduction. “On the positive side, we have the potential to cure diseases that have been incurable for thousands of years, to radically improve human health, and to lift billions out of poverty, including the Global South, and create a better world for everyone,” he said.
At the same time, he flagged concerns around the technology’s misuse and unintended consequences. “On the side of risks, I’m concerned about the autonomous behaviour of AI models, their potential for misuse by individuals and governments, and their potential for economic displacement,” Amodei said.
Reiterating Anthropic’s commitment to India, he said the company has opened an office in Bengaluru and appointed Irina Ghose as managing director for Anthropic India. Ghose has spent three decades building businesses in the country, he noted. The firm has also signed partnership agreements with major Indian enterprises, including Infosys.
Amodei said the world is moving rapidly towards what he described as “a country of geniuses in a data centre” — a scenario in which AI agents surpass most humans in capability and coordinate at superhuman speed.
“That level of capability is something the world has never seen before and brings a very wide range of both opportunities and concerns for humanity,” he said.