What happened
Speaking at the India AI Impact Summit 2026, Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith stated artificial intelligence will dictate the economic balance between the Global North and South. According to Smith, AI will either close or widen existing technological divides driven by unequal electricity access. He specified that bringing AI to the Global South requires investment in physical infrastructure, data centres, compute, connectivity, and power. At the same event, Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared India will use AI as a primary driver for future national growth.
Why it matters
Infrastructure investors and regional founders face a widening resource gap because foundational AI deployment requires massive power and compute prerequisites. Smith's statement highlights that software access cannot bypass physical infrastructure constraints. This follows recent patterns of concentrated AI investment, including US and Chinese expansion into Latin America. Therefore, regions lacking baseline electricity and data centre capacity risk permanent economic exclusion, locking local enterprises out of productivity gains while well-resourced markets accelerate automation.
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