Former British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Thursday poked fun at Delhi’s traffic snarls while addressing a gathering at the India AI Impact Summit 2026 at the Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi. Blaming traffic jams and taking responsibility for the delay, he made the quirky remark that artificial intelligence (AI) cannot yet fix Delhi’s traffic.
“I’m sorry, we’re a few minutes late and it’s purely my fault. AI can do a lot of things, as we’ve found out this week, but it can’t fix traffic in Delhi yet,” ANI quoted the British politician as saying at the start of the session.
While earlier speaking at the AI Impact Summit as a keynote speaker, Sunak lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership for providing a platform to discuss this game-changing innovation.
Emphasizing the importance of the event, he said, “We need a regular forum where we can all come together and discuss this technology and that is what this Summit provides under the leadership of Prime Modi. This Summit will have an impact; it will show us how we can make AI work not only for the developed world but also for the developing world.”
According to Rishi Sunak, this summit would show how artificial intelligence can improve health and education “in every corner of the world”. During the interaction, the former British prime minister said, “There is no better place to discuss this AI transformation than India.”
“India has moved to one of the medal positions as an AI superpower,” says Rishi Sunak
He argued for the continued debate about the benefits of AI. Emphasizing the need to continue the dialogue to reap its benefits globally, he added: “What has been this week is just an example of extraordinary, not only the leadership of Prime Minister Modi, but the energy that you all have here to develop this technology and use it is unlike anywhere else in the world. It’s a very special ingredient. That’s why India has now moved to the top of the world AI rankings according to Stanford. many of you here should have been proud.”
Pointing out that England still lead the ICC Test rankings, he continued his light-hearted banter: “Although a little disappointing because they have leapfrogged the UK to get into that position. Although I have just pointed out to Prime Minister Modi, if you look at the ICC rankings, England are still ahead, which is probably more important.”
UK Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy joined in the hilarious conversation by introducing Sunak as “a great son of the UK and also a great son of India”. Sunak corrected David Lammy and interjected, “Son-in-law.”
David Lammy also underlined his deep connection to India, saying: “I also want to establish my heritage because my great-grandmother on my mother’s side was from Calcutta.”