Chaos at major AI summit as scandal-plagued Bill Gates abruptly backs out and Sam Altman, rival awkwardly avoid clasping hands

Bill Gates abruptly backed out of giving the keynote address at a major AI summit in India on Thursday, in the wake of recently released emails shedding light on his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.

The six-day event in New Delhi was billed as the first forum of its kind in the global south and an opportunity for the host country to flex its AI muscles on the world stage. But attendees say it has been mired by traffic jams, awkward on-stage moments — including a viral mishap involving AI bigwigs Sam Altman and Dario Amodei — and organizational chaos.

According to the Gates Foundation, the billionaire co-founder of Microsoft did not deliver his keynote speech “to ensure the focus remained on the AI Summit’s key priorities” – even though the organization had insisted he was on track to attend the event just days ago.

Gates has faced public blowback since the US Justice Department released the latest batch of Epstein emails earlier this month — including a draft message that the late sex offender wrote suggesting that he facilitated sexual encounters for Gates. 

Gates has said he regrets knowing Epstein and denied any wrongdoing in relation to the financier creep.

Gates’ cancellation came a few days after Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang pulled out of the AI Impact Summit. A Nvidia spokesperson blamed “unforeseen circumstances” for the move, according to Reuters.