New Delhi, Feb. 20 -- The India AI Impact Summit began on Monday and, as Alfred Marshall would have remarked, artificial intelligence (AI) is "in the air." The dominant imagery is of frontier labs, large language models, semiconductor breakthroughs and digital-native firms scaling at breakneck speed.

But even as the summit calls for a more democratic and socially relevant AI, the overarching question is this: Where will AI actually move the needle?

Will it be confined to elite technology ecosystems, empowering those already at the top of the pyramid? Or will its true dividend come from transforming our vast education, health and agriculture ecosystems-or legacy manufacturing sectors that employ millions?

AI is already delivering value ...