Nadella: “Thinking about how to interject humans in the loop with the agency and the ambition is going to be one of the bigger design issues.”
He emphasised that countries that adopt technology fastest, not just invent it, drive innovation.
Praised India’s “virtuous cycle” of policy, digital infrastructure, and private sector participation as a model for AI impact.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has warned that the future of AI deployment will be constrained if the government and companies fail to centre humans in the design of AI systems. Speaking at the Microsoft AI Tour in New Delhi, Nadella said that while the world is moving fast on model scale and adoption, “we will all be rate-limited in deploying any of this if we don’t crack that particular point.”
SurveyNadella welcomed India’s decision to anchor its upcoming Global AI Summit around the theme of “impact,” saying the world must stop discussing AI only as technology and start focusing on real outcomes. “My entire keynote was about really how do we stop talking about AI as technology but start talking about the impact this is having in real lives,” he said.
He also stated that countries that lead technological eras are not the ones that merely invent the technology but the ones that adopt it quickly to build new innovations on top. “People who created the leading tech were not the ones who got ahead, it was people who adopted the leading tech the fastest to create more leading tech,” Nadella said.
When the conversation moved to fears that humans may be sidelined in the AI era, Nadella agreed that this is emerging as one of the biggest challenges, not a technical problem but a design one. He also mentioned the need for stronger human agency, saying “Thinking about how to interject humans in the loop with the agency and the ambition is going to be one of the bigger design issues as opposed to a technical issue.”
The Microsoft chief added that failing to solve this will limit AI’s real-world deployment. “We will all be rate-limited… if we don’t crack that particular point,” he added.
He also touched upon the geopolitical dimensions of technology and acknowledged global concerns around sovereignty and resilience. He called these concerns “absolutely a very legitimate question and requirement,” and advised governments to adopt a portfolio-based and risk-driven approach to cloud and AI infrastructure.
Nadella also praised India’s unique ability to align public policy, digital public infrastructure and private sector participation. He said this creates a “virtuous cycle” that countries often try to replicate but cannot simply copy. “You cannot take the India Stack by itself, you have got to take the entire thing,” he said.
Follow Us
Ashish Singh
Ashish Singh is the Chief Copy Editor at Digit. He's been wrangling tech jargon since 2020 (Times Internet, Jagran English '22). When not policing commas, he's likely fueling his gadget habit with coffee, strategising his next virtual race, or plotting a road trip to test the latest in-car tech. He speaks fluent Geek. View Full Profile
