Cuba Backs India’s Inclusive AI Vision at Global Impact Summit

The AI Impact Summit has emerged as a critical forum for diplomatic discourse on the future of machine learning, recently highlighted by the Cuban delegation's vocal support for India's inclusive AI framework. This endorsement, delivered by the President of the Cuban delegation on February 21, 2026, underscores a burgeoning consensus among developing nations that the current trajectory of AI development—largely dominated by a handful of global tech giants—must be steered toward more equitable access and application. India’s proposal, which centers on the democratization of AI tools and the creation of digital public infrastructure, represents a strategic pivot away from the proprietary, high-cost models that currently define the industry.

The concept of inclusive AI as championed by India involves several technical and social pillars that resonate with the Cuban delegation. Primarily, it advocates for the development of models that are linguistically diverse and capable of operating in resource-constrained environments. For a nation like Cuba, which faces significant infrastructure challenges and unique economic conditions, the promise of AI that does not require massive centralized data centers or exorbitant licensing fees is particularly attractive. By aligning with India, Cuba is signaling its intent to bypass traditional technological dependencies in favor of a more collaborative, open-source-adjacent model of development that prioritizes local needs over global profit margins.

“

The AI Impact Summit has emerged as a critical forum for diplomatic discourse on the future of machine learning, recently highlighted by the Cuban delegation's vocal support for India's inclusive AI framework.

This diplomatic alignment also reflects a broader trend in the AI landscape: the rise of the Global South as a unified voice in AI ethics and regulation. While Western nations have focused heavily on safety risks and existential threats, India and its partners are framing the AI conversation around economic empowerment and closing the digital divide. The Cuban delegation's praise suggests that India’s leadership in international bodies, such as the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI), is effectively positioning the country as a champion for nations that feel sidelined by the rapid pace of AI evolution. This could lead to a shift in how AI models are benchmarked, moving from pure performance metrics to inclusivity scores that measure a model's utility across different socioeconomic contexts.

Furthermore, the implications for the AI industry are significant. If a large bloc of nations begins to demand inclusive standards, developers may be forced to prioritize efficiency and modularity. We are already seeing a shift toward Small Language Models (SLMs) that can run on edge devices, a trend that perfectly aligns with the requirements of inclusive AI. Companies that can provide high-performance AI with low compute requirements will likely find a massive, untapped market in the regions represented by the Cuban and Indian delegations. The endorsement at the summit serves as a market signal that the next billion AI users will require tools that are fundamentally different from those currently being deployed in more affluent markets.

Looking ahead, the success of India’s proposal will depend on the transition from diplomatic rhetoric to technical implementation. The AI Impact Summit has laid the groundwork, but the next phase will require the creation of shared datasets, cross-border research initiatives, and common regulatory frameworks that protect data sovereignty while encouraging innovation. As Cuba and India strengthen their ties in this sector, they may provide a blueprint for other developing nations to follow, potentially creating a third pole in the global AI race that balances the interests of the state, the market, and the public good. The international community will be watching closely to see if this 'inclusive' vision can produce tangible technological breakthroughs that rival the current state-of-the-art models.