GBS 2026: India Generates Nearly 20% Of World’s Data, Says Wipro’s Ivana Bartoletti

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generates nearly 20 per cent of the world’s data, has the second-largest AI talent base globally and is home to over 700 million digitally connected citizens, said Ivana Bartoletti, Global Chief Privacy and AI Governance Officer at Wipro, while speaking at ET Now Global Business Summit (GBS) 2026.Thanking India for hosting the global AI summit, Bartoletti said the timing of the event is structural, not symbolic, as the world moves from AI experimentation to large-scale adoption."We are moving from a phase of experimentation to a phase of systemic embedding of artificial intelligence," she said.

Bartoletti also said that earlier global discussions on AI were focused largely on safety and catastrophic risks. While that focus remains important, she stressed that risk management alone is no longer enough."The real questions today are about readiness, institutional preparedness, and whether governance can keep pace with rapid technological change," she said.Talking about India’s growing role in the global AI ecosystem, Bartoletti said the country’s scale, data generation, and digital infrastructure place it in a unique leadership position.Bartoletti pointed out that India’s success with large-scale digital adoption shows that technology transformation works when two things align -- society is open to change, and institutions are capable of supporting and regulating that change.She added that India’s evolving AI approach reflects a shift from early risk restrictions to full life-cycle accountability, where governance grows alongside AI adoption.“This summit is not just about symbolic leadership. It is about operational leadership,” she said, adding that hosting the event in the Global South sends a strong message.Bartoletti concluded by saying AI governance must move beyond policy discussions to real-world implementation."AI will not only reward technical capability. It will reward absorption capacity — the ability of institutions and businesses to turn AI adoption into productivity and inclusion," she said.