Introducing the Series

The 2026 AI Impact Summit in India is the latest iteration of an event that has become a bellwether for global discourse around the AI industry, especially the question of whether, and how, it can be governed.

But it also demonstrates how important ideas can be invoked in ways that dilute their meaning or co-opt their force. In this series—produced by AI Now Institute, Aapti Institute, and The Maybe—we bring together leading advocates, builders, and thinkers from around the world who live and breathe substance, analysis, and meaningful action into these ideas.

Open Source

Meredith Whittaker

Sovereignty

Rafael Grohmann

Multilateralism

Chinasa T. Okolo

Linguistic Diversity

Chenai Chair

Accountability

Nikhil Dey

Democratization

Audrey Tang

AI for Good

Abeba Birhane

Frugal AI

Timnit Gebru

AI and Development

Usha Ramanathan

Climate

Naomi Klein

Human Capital

Joan Kinyua

Data Rich

Karen Hao