AI at inflection point, needs stewardship over hype: IBM India MD Sandip Patel

New Delhi: Asserting that the world has reached a critical inflection point where artificial intelligence has matured from concept to production, IBM India and South Asia Managing Director Sandip Patel on Tuesday called for a shift from the "excitement of deployment" to the "discipline of stewardship".

Speaking at the 9th AI Leadership Meet, Patel noted that for the impact of AI to be sustainable, the industry must move beyond initial excitement and embed guardrails that support safety, fairness and transparency.

"I think we've reached a very critical inflection point where artificial intelligence has matured from conceptual ideas to production-grade determinants, delivering measurable value across the globe.

"But for this impact to be sustainable, we must move beyond the excitement of deployment towards the discipline of stewardship. The question is no longer if AI will change our world. The question is how we will shape that change responsibly, equitably and at scale," Patel noted.

Technology must be made available for the greater good and not just for individual businesses, he said. Patel highlighted that open-source technology is the "beating heart" of modern AI models and is crucial for preventing vendor lock-in.

"To harness this energy for public good, we must embed shared standards, clear documentation, ethical open sourcing, robust evaluation and pathways for responsible reuse.

"We must also support interoperability so that public-centred deployments can plug and play components, switch across tools when needed, and avoid lock-in while preserving security and compliance. This is how we democratise AI by making it usable, auditable and adaptable for all large enterprises, MSMEs, start-ups, universities and public institutions," Patel said.

He added that India sits on a wealth of demographic dividend which, if unleashed, trained and scaled, can make the country the skills capital of the world.

He underlined the importance of collaborative governance and said regulators and industry must align and work together to validate safety and share best practices.

Hosted by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, the India AI-Impact Summit 2026 will be held on February 19-20, 2026, in New Delhi.