India AI Impact Summit 2026: “Humanity in the Loop” Session Calls Trust a Design Choice, Not an Afterthought

As artificial intelligence rapidly moves beyond experimentation into systems shaping economies, governance and daily life, the India AI Impact Summit 2026 delivered a clear message: trust is not a downstream outcome of innovation—it is a design choice.

This was the central theme of the session "Humanity in the Loop – Balancing Innovation and Ethics in the Age of AI," which brought together leaders from multilateral institutions, legislatures, industry and public policy to examine how ethical reflection, human oversight and risk-based regulation must be embedded into AI systems from the very beginning.

Ethics and Innovation Are Mutually Reinforcing

Rather than treating ethics and innovation as competing priorities, speakers argued they are inseparable drivers of adoption, societal impact and long-term competitiveness.

The discussion moved beyond abstract principles into operational questions, including:

• How to build transparency into AI products

• How regulation can act before harm becomes irreversible

• How humans remain decision-makers in high-stakes domains

• How accountability can be visibly enforced

Across sectors, participants agreed that AI will scale democratically only when it is accountable, explainable and aligned with human outcomes.

EU Parliament: Without Trust, Democratic Adoption Is Impossible

Brando Benifei, Member of the European Parliament, warned against repeating the cost of delayed regulation seen in earlier technology cycles.

He called for a calibrated, risk-based governance approach, particularly in high-impact domains such as:

• Healthcare

• Workforce deployment

• Administrative decision-making

He stressed that transparency, data quality, cybersecurity and clear oversight frameworks are essential because:

"Without trust, democratic adoption of AI is impossible."

UNESCO: Ethics Must Be Built In at the Design Stage

Dr. Tawfik Jelassi, Assistant Director-General for Communication and Information, UNESCO, emphasised that ethical reflection cannot be applied retrospectively after harm has occurred.

He argued that systems that are ethical by design become more trusted, more widely used, and therefore more impactful.

He also noted that human-centric innovation must be contextual, guided by overarching frameworks rather than one-size-fits-all approaches.

NITI Aayog: Oversight Must Run from Design to Commercialisation

Debjani Ghosh, Distinguished Fellow, NITI Aayog, framed the debate as a civilisational choice about how technology is deployed.

She stressed that the challenge is not choosing between ethics and innovation, but ensuring oversight is embedded throughout the lifecycle:

"From design to commercialisation so that ethics becomes by design, not an afterthought."

She placed accountability firmly with human institutions and developers.

Salesforce: Enterprises Scale AI Only When Users Can Question and Control It

Bringing an enterprise deployment lens, Paula Goldman, EVP and Chief Ethical and Humane Use Officer, Salesforce, said organisations scale AI only when people can see, question and control system behaviour.

She highlighted the importance of:

• Built-in observability

• Human escalation pathways

• User choice and agency

Companies succeed, she noted, when they:

"Put people at the centre, giving them a voice in where AI actually helps."

Ethics as the Operating System of the AI Era

The session concluded with a powerful consensus: ethics is not a compliance layer—it is the operating system of the AI age.

From global governance frameworks to product-level design decisions, speakers converged on a single principle:

The future of AI will be defined by whether people can trust it in the moments that matter most.

As AI becomes embedded in democratic systems and everyday services, the summit reaffirmed that humanity must remain in the loop—not outside it.