AI Summit: Actress Soha Ali Urges Ethical AI to Protect and Empower Women
UNFPA India’s Advocate calls for safer, more inclusive digital spaces as leaders chart India’s ethical AI pathway at the India AI Summit 2026
New Delhi, Feb 16 : Actress and UNFPA India Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) Advocate, Soha Ali Khan, today pushed for urgent adoption of ethical, gender-responsive artificial intelligence to make digital spaces safer and more empowering for women and girls.
At the AI Impact Summit 2026 here, she delivered the keynote address at the high-level session “Reimagining Gender in Technology: Designing Safer Digital Futures and Advancing Ethical AI for Inclusive Platforms”
She spoke from her experience as a public figure, highlighting both the promise of technology and the growing risks women face online.
“Technology has expanded opportunities for millions of Indian women—to learn, work, and be heard. But for that promise to truly hold, women must feel safe online. We have a real chance to shape AI so it actively protects women and helps more voices participate with confidence in digital spaces,” said the actress.
The session was organized by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in partnership with Ikigai Law and the University of Melbourne, bringing together policymakers, industry leaders and researchers to push for gender-responsive AI governance and stronger platform accountability in India.
With over 750 million internet users and millions of women coming online for the first time, India’s approach to AI governance will play a critical role in shaping global standards for ethical, inclusive and rights-based technology.
In her opening remarks, Andrea M. Wojnar, Representative, UNFPA India and Country Director, UNFPA Bhutan, underscored that women’s rights, safety and dignity must be non-negotiable in India’s digital future.
“India’s leadership in AI gives us a unique opportunity to build systems that are safe, inclusive and grounded in human rights from the start. If we design and govern technology with women’s rights at the centre, we don’t just reduce harm—we unlock participation, innovation and shared progress for everyone,” she said.
The keynote was followed by a panel discussion which centred around practical steps—from safety-by-design and AI that works across Indian languages to the economic case for closing India’s digital gender gap.
The session closed with a clear sense of urgency about making digital spaces safer for women and designing AI around their realities, with speakers calling for closer collaboration between policymakers, platforms, researchers and civil society to turn ethical AI into action.
An Ethical Technology Solution Showcase highlighted innovations from India and the Global South shaping safer, more inclusive digital spaces.
UNFPA is the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency.
UNFPA’s mission is to deliver a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person’s potential is fulfilled. (BVI)
