General David Petraeus, the former head of the CIA and veteran US Army general, confirmed his participation in the NDTV World Summit 2026. He will take the stage on October 23 at 10:30 AM in New Delhi. The topic is blunt: "War in the Time of AI: How Technology Is Rewriting the Battlefield."
This is not just another panel discussion. Petraeus spent 37 years in the US Army, including six general officer commands, five of which were in combat. He led coalition forces during the Iraq surge and later commanded NATO’s ISAF in Afghanistan. After retiring in August 2011, he took over the CIA in September of that year following a 94-0 Senate vote. He held the post until November 2012, a period defined by intense counterterrorism operations and the agency's early digital pushes.
Now a partner at KKR and chairman of the KKR Global Institute, Petraeus brings a dual lens to the conversation. He understands the tactical realities of the field and the strategic implications of capital and technology. His academic background is equally heavy, with a PhD from Princeton and teaching stints at Harvard, Yale, and USC. He holds four Defence Distinguished Service Medals and a Bronze Star for Valour. The summit, running October 22 and 23, gathers world leaders and tech experts to dissect a world caught between old orders and new ones. The question is whether the next war will be fought with guns or algorithms. Petraeus will argue it’s both.