Former UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Wednesday said India demonstrates strong optimism and trust in artificial intelligence (AI), while Western nations continue to approach the technology with caution and anxiety.

Speaking during a fireside chat with Meta’s Chief AI Officer Alexandr Wang at the India AI Impact Summit 2026 in New Delhi, Sunak highlighted the contrasting global attitudes toward AI adoption.

“Across the world, we’re seeing different attitudes towards AI. In countries like India, there’s enormous optimism and trust, while in Western countries anxiety is still the dominant feeling,” Sunak said. He stressed that bridging this “confidence gap” is as much a policy challenge as a technical one, requiring thoughtful governance frameworks that build public trust.

Sunak described India as a country with “huge digital ambitions and capacity,” pointing to the extraordinary scale of global AI investments. He noted that leading AI companies are set to spend exponentially more on developing AI technologies this year than the US government spent on the Manhattan Project, underscoring the transformative potential of the sector.

Alexandr Wang echoed the sense of momentum, calling the present moment “an incredibly exciting time for technology.” He praised India’s rapid rise in the global AI ecosystem, describing it as “a very positive case study.” According to Wang, India now hosts more consumer AI startups than the United States, reflecting a vibrant innovation landscape.

Wang also observed that AI development has entered a new paradigm marked by “recursive self-improvement,” where AI systems increasingly accelerate the creation of subsequent generations of models. He said this shift has significantly boosted productivity and innovation cycles.

The India AI Impact Summit 2026, being held at Bharat Mandapam from February 16 to 20, has brought together policymakers, technology leaders, researchers, entrepreneurs, and civil society representatives from across the world. The summit aims to align AI development with inclusive growth and responsible governance while amplifying the voice of the Global South in shaping the future of emerging technologies.