AI Safety Connect Day | Wednesday 18 February,
The Imperial Hotel, New Delhi.
Overview
Our flagship event co-hosted with IASEAI brings together approximately 250 policymakers, researchers, and industry leaders for a full day of programming. The event includes panels, lightning talks, and workshops focused on practical coordination mechanisms. Sessions will address multilateral frameworks, technology-enabled governance, and bridging divides between sectors and regions. This is AISC's signature convening during the India Summit.
Time: Main Programme 9:30am - 6:30pm
Dinner & Reception: 6:30pm - 11:30pm
Location: The Imperial Hotel, New Delhi
Capacity: Approximately 250 attendees
Co-hosts: AI Safety Connect and International Association for Safe & Ethical AI (IASEAI)
Agenda
MORNING SESSIONS
Welcome & Opening Remarks: Why India, Why Now? - Framing the need to discuss safe and trusted AI through risk, security, and technical contexts
Fireside Chat: Frontier AI: Boom, Bust, or Backlash? - Discussing how the global community can responsibly steer AI for societal wellbeing
Panel: Setting the Global AI Safety Risk Agenda - Investigating key pressing safety risks and global priority areas for the multistakeholder AI community
Panel: The Last Question: Will We Lose Control of Advanced AI? - Exploring avenues to avoid loss of control of advanced AI systems through technical governance
8:30 - 9:30 am
Registration (60 mins)
SESSION ONE
Mr. Cyrus Hodes
Mr. Nicolas Miailhe
9:30 - 10:00 am
WELCOME & OPENING REMARKS : WHY INDIA, WHY NOW?
(25 mins + 5 mins buffer time)
AI Safety Connect and invited opening speakers will open the event, framing the need to discuss safe and trusted AI through risk, security, and technical contexts.10:00 - 10:05 am
Transition Time (5 mins)
SESSION TWO
SPEAKER
SPEAKER
SPEAKER
10:05 - 10:45 am
FIRESIDE CHAT FRONTIER AI: BOOM, BUST, OR BACKLASH?
(30 mins discussion + 10 mins Q&A)
As AI adoption races, economic pundits wonder whether frontier AI will bring forth a new technological boom or bust. What has been rather unprecedented is the growing backlash — calls to strip AI away from ‘agentic’ tasks and replace rapid development with reasoned development.
In conversation with Yoshua Bengio, a forefather of AI safety, this fireside chat will discuss how and if the global community can responsibly steer AI so it can be used for purposeful and meaningful societal wellbeing.10:45 - 11:05 am
Coffee Break ((15 mins break + 5 mins transition))
SESSION THREE
Baroness Joanna Shields
Dr. Gabriela Ramos
11:05 - 11:50 am
PANEL: SETTING THE GLOBAL AI SAFETY RISK AGENDA
(30 mins discussion + 10 mins Q&A)
As AI adoption races, economic pundits wonder whether frontier AI will bring forth a new technological boom or bust. What has been rather unprecedented is the growing backlash — calls to strip AI away from ‘agentic’ tasks and replace rapid development with reasoned development.
In conversation with Yoshua Bengio, a forefather of AI safety, this fireside chat will discuss how and if the global community can responsibly steer AI so it can be used for purposeful and meaningful societal wellbeing.11:50 - 11:55 am
Transition Time (5 mins)
AFTERNOON SESSIONS
Fireside Chat: Reading Farmer's Almanac for AI - Exploring the interplay between AI ambition and the imperative of safety over the long term
Panel: Safety Efforts by Frontier AI Developers - Discussing industry approaches to safety with leading frontier companies
Panel: Bending the Bell Curve: How Can Middle Powers Shape Global AI Power? - Policy and governance approaches to build middle power agency and coordination
Panel: Global AI Safety and India - Examining AI safety and control in India's context, drawing on experiences with digital public infrastructure
Panel: Coordinating AI Safety Across Borders - How international coordination mechanisms can enable safe, trusted, and equitable AI across countries
Closing Remarks - Synthesis of key takeaways
SESSION FOUR
Prof. Stuart Russell
Prof. Kee-Eung Kim
11:55 - 12:40 pm
PANEL: WILL WE LOSE CONTROL OF ADVANCED AI?
(35 mins + 7 mins Q&A + 3 mins transition)
As AI systems approach greater autonomy and capabilities, potentially moving into a “superintelligent” classification, the emerging AI governance, security, and risk management tools may not be sufficient to ensure we retain control and maintain their reliability and accountability.This panel explores, through a technical governance lens, avenues to avoid loss of control of advanced AI systems.12:40 - 2:00 pm
Lunch (70 mins lunch + 10 mins transition)
SESSION FIVE
Speaker
Speaker
2:00 - 2:40 pm
FIRESIDE CHAT: READING THE FARMER’S ALMANAC FOR AI
(30 mins discussion + 10 mins Q&A)
With extraordinary capital flows and infrastructure build-out races propelling increasingly advanced AI into the heart of global technology and markets, questions are emerging about whether economic realities align with true frontier capabilities and safety concerns. In conversation with leading technology visionaries and safety advocates, this discussion will explore the interplay between AI ambition and the imperative of safety over the long-term.2:40 - 2:45 pm
Transition Time (5 mins)
2:40 - 3:30 pm
PANEL: SAFETY EFFORTS BY FRONTIER AI DEVELOPERS
(35 mins + 7 mins Q&A + 3 mins transition)
Frontier AI developers now sit at the center of the decisions that shape global risk, from model training to deployment choices to evaluation and monitoring responses.
This panel discusses these industry approaches to safety with leading frontier companies and social-impact ventures working on AI safety.3:30 - 3:50 pm
Coffee Break (15 mins + 5 mins transition)
SESSION SIX
SPEAKERS
Mr. Owen Larter
Ms. Nicole Foster
MODERATOR
Mr. Connor Dunlop
3:50 - 4:35 pm
PANEL: BENDING THE BELL CURVE: HOW CAN MIDDLE POWERS SHAPE GLOBAL AI POWER
(35 mins + 7 mins Q&A + 3 mins transition)
Middle powers have a strong incentive to demand AGI/ASI safety. They face major risks to their national security and economic capability, yet at the same time, they lack the means to unilaterally influence superpowers to halt their attempts to develop ASI.This panel explores possible policy and governance approaches to build middle power agency and coordination efforts to recalibrate AI power dynamics for sustainable, equitable, and safe AI development and deploymentSESSION SEVEN
SPEAKERS
Mr. Denise Wong
Mr. Amlan Mohanty
MODERATOR
Ms. Imane Bello
4:35 - 4:40 pm
Coffee Break (15 mins + 5 mins transition)
4:40 - 5:25 pm
SESSION EIGHT
SPEAKERS
Dr. Chinmay Pandya
Mr. Osama Manzar
Dr. Urvashi Aneja
MODERATOR
Dr. Mark Nitzberg
PANEL: GLOBAL AI SAFETY AND INDIA
(35 mins + 10 mins Q&A/transition)
Frontier AI developers now sit at the center of the decisions that shape global risk, from model training to deployment choices to evaluation and monitoring responses.
This panel discusses these industry approaches to safety with leading frontier companies and social-impact ventures working on AI safety.5:25 - 5:30 pm
Transition Time (5 mins)
SESSION NINE
SPEAKERS
Speaker
Speaker
Speaker
MODERATOR
Speaker
5:30 - 6:15 pm
PANEL: COORDINATING AI SAFETY ACROSS BORDERS
(35 mins + 10 mins Q&A/transition)
No single government or company will be able to control the development and uptake of advanced AI. This panel brings together senior leaders from the global community to examine how international coordination mechanisms can build shared language, capacity, and oversight mechanisms to enable safe, trusted, and equitable AI across countries.6:15 - 6:20 pm
Transition Time (5 mins)
SESSION TEN
SPEAKERS
Speaker
Speaker
Speaker
MODERATOR
Speaker
6:20 - 6:30 pm
CLOSING REMARKS
10 mins
The day’s events will conclude with a brief synthesis of key takeaways.6:40 - 11:30 pm
Dinner & Reception
6:30 - 6:40 pm
Transition Time
Event Location
The Imperial Hotel, New Delhi.