AI's Future Unveiled: 7 Major Shifts by 2026, India Leads Global South Summit

• By 2026, AI shifts from experimental generative models to high-functioning Agentic AI systems, capable of autonomous multi-step workflows.
• Physical AI integrates with robotics and real-time telemetry, enabling autonomous lab automation and self-optimizing optical networks.
• Industry pivots to Small Language Models (SLMs) and domain-specific architectures for higher precision, lower latency, and efficient on-device processing.
• AI-driven drug discovery becomes standard, accelerating personalized medicine development by identifying optimal excipient combinations.
• The India AI Impact Summit, hosted by MeitY in February 2026, is the first major AI summit led by a Global South nation, emphasizing an "India-led development-centric model."