‘AI can do many things, but can’t yet fix Delhi’s traffic’: Rishi Sunak’s light-hearted banter during a session at British HC

NEW DELHI: Former UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak made a light-hearted remark on Delhi’s traffic congestion as he apologised for the delay in the joint session with UK Deputy PM David Lammy at the British High Commission here.

“Sorry, we’re a few minutes late, that’s entirely my fault. AI can do many things, as we’ve heard this week, but it can’t yet fix Delhi’s traffic. So, work to do”, he said.

Hailing Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Rishi Sunak emphasised that India has moved into a medal position as an AI superpower. He lauded the country’s energy to develop the technology and use it.

#WATCH | Delhi: David Lammy, Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, says, “I know that former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is not just a great son of the United Kingdom, he is also a great son-in-law of India. But I just want to establish my heritage too because my… pic.twitter.com/vUmOGN3wV1

— ANI (@ANI) February 19, 2026

“What this week has been is just a showcase of the extraordinary, not just the leadership of Prime Minister Modi, but the energy that all of you have here to develop this technology and use it, is unlike anywhere else in the world. It’s a very special ingredient. It’s the reason that India, now, according to Stanford, who do the world rankings, moved into one of the medal positions as an AI superpower in the world, which is something that many of you here should be proud of”.

Continuing his light-hearted banter, Sunak said that India “leapfrogged” the UK to get ahead in the AI race and reminded that England still leads in ICC test rankings, which he jokingly said is “more important”.

“Although a little bit disappointing, because they leapfrogged the UK to get to that position. Although I did just point out to Prime Minister Modi just now, if you look at the ICC test rankings, England is still ahead, which arguably is more important,” he said.

UK Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy introduced Sunak as “a great son of the United Kingdom and also a great son of India”. Sunak promptly interjected, saying, “Son-in-law”, drawing laughter from the audience, as Lammy responded with “Son-in-Law!”

Lammy went on to underline his own India connection, “I just want to establish my heritage too, because my great-grandmother on my mother’s side was from Calcutta.”

Turning to artificial intelligence, Lammy referenced Sunak’s decision to convene the first global AI Summit at Bletchley Park.” You kicked off the first global summit, um, in Bletchley Park. Um, it’s an issue that you cared about then. Why did you decide that it was something that you were going to use your platform to signal to the world that this is important? And how do you think that story’s going?” he asked.

This comes amid the AI Summit being held in Delhi, which Sunak, during his address at the summit, called an ideal venue for shaping the future of artificial intelligence (AI)

Addressing the AI Impact Summit as a keynote Speaker earlier, he said India was uniquely positioned to drive the next phase of AI’s global journey, not just for developed nations, but for the developing world as well.

“We do need a regular forum, where we can all meet and discuss this technology, and that is what this Summit provides under Prime Modi’s leadership. This summit will deliver impact; it will show us how we can make AI work, not just for the developed world but for the developing world too,” Sunak said. (ANI)