On the opening day of the ai impact summit 2026 in new delhi, indian news publishers demanded fair compensation for using journalistic content to train ai models. They emphasized that news content differs from general internet data and is vital for model accuracy.
The ai impact summit 2026 began on february 16 at bharat mandapam in new delhi, marking the first global ai summit hosted in the global south. Prime minister narendra modi inaugurated the india ai impact expo, featuring over 600 startups and pavilions from 13 countries. The event runs until february 20, drawing more than 20 heads of state, 60 ministers, and 500 global ai leaders.
On the opening day, a panel organized by the digital news publishers association (DNPA) featured media leaders calling for payment for journalistic content used in ai training. LV navaneeth, CEO of the hindu group, stated, “Journalistic content is not free-floating content on the internet. It is something which is intellectual property.” Kalli purie of india today group described an 'ai sandwich' principle, where human intent bookends ai assistance. Mohit jain of the times group highlighted ai's role in eroding news traffic, while robert whitehead of the international news media association (INMA) warned that ai chatbots are destroying referral traffic from search engines.
Publishers referenced the DNPA's lawsuit against openai over the unlawful use of copyrighted material. They demanded transparency from ai firms, better labeling for traceability, and recognition of journalism as a public good. On day two, february 17, discussions involved speakers like amandeep singh gill from the united nations and amitabh kant of NITI aayog, focusing on jobs, health, and data centers. French president emmanuel macron arrived to attend. Tanmay maheshwari of amar ujala noted that indic-language ai models have accuracy below 55 percent.