New Delhi, Dec 29 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the India AI Impact Summit and engage with global technology leaders during the high-profile event scheduled to be held from February 15 to February 20, Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology Secretary S Krishnan said on Monday.

The Prime Minister will also host a gala dinner for visiting tech leaders as part of the summit programme.

Senior government officials said several top global CEOs have confirmed their participation.

These include Bill Gates, Dario Amodei, Demis Hassabis, Shantanu Narayen and Marc Benioff. Jensen Huang is also expected to attend the summit, according to officials.

India has formally invited China to take part in the summit as well. Krishnan said the invitation was extended as India positions the event as a global platform to promote the idea of “democratising AI”.

The summit is expected to see participation from more than 100 countries, with invitations already sent to around 140 nations.

“Over 100 AI leaders, including CEOs, CXOs and chief scientists, are likely to attend the main sessions,” he mentioned.

Prime Minister Modi will inaugurate the AI Impact Expo on February 16. He will host a gala dinner for global technology leaders on February 18.

The formal opening ceremony of the summit is scheduled for February 19, when the Prime Minister is also expected to attend a leaders’ plenary session and a CEO roundtable.

A ministerial meeting of the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence will be held on February 20, bringing together policymakers from different countries.

Other confirmed participants include Cristiano Amon and Raj Subramaniam, along with several global technology founders and academics.

Krishnan said more than 50 CEOs and founders and over 100 senior academics have already confirmed their attendance.

Ahead of the main summit, an innovation festival will begin on February 15 at Central Park in Connaught Place.

This public event will showcase creative and social uses of artificial intelligence. During the summit week, around 800 parallel AI-related events are expected to take place across the country.

The government expects more than 1.5 lakh people to attend events linked to the summit, including the expo.

–IANS

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