It was supposed to be India’s moment on the global AI stage. Instead, the country’s flagship artificial intelligence summit has become a showcase of something else entirely. Last-minute cancellations, a fake robot scandal, gridlocked streets, and a photo op where two rival tech chiefs refused to hold hands.
Bill Gates had one job at India’s AI Impact Summit. Show up. He couldn’t manage that either.
The Microsoft co-founder pulled out just hours before his scheduled Thursday keynote. His foundation’s explanation was a masterpiece in corporate vagueness. His absence would help “ensure the focus remains on the AI Summit’s key priorities.”
Days earlier, the Gates Foundation had flatly dismissed rumours he wouldn’t attend, insisting he was on track to make a presence.
The timing raised eyebrows. Last month, the US Department of Justice released emails showing communication between Gates Foundation staff and Jeffrey Epstein, the late financier and convicted sex offender.
Gates has said the relationship was confined to philanthropy-related discussions. He has also called his decision to meet Epstein a mistake.
Nvidia’s Jensen Huang then cancelled too. At this point, the no-show list was becoming its own kind of summit.
Make AI space family guided: Modi
Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the gathering. Alongside him stood French President Emmanuel Macron, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei.
PM Modi called for tighter protections for children on AI platforms. “We must be even more vigilant about children’s safety,” he was quoted as saying. “Just as a school syllabus is curated, the AI space should also be child- and family-guided.”
The leaders posed for photographs with arms raised in a show of solidarity. Then came the awkward bit. Altman and Amodei, chiefs of fiercely competing firms OpenAI and Anthropic, stood next to each other but reportedly declined to hold hands. Everyone else did. The cameras caught it all.
The organisational failures ran deeper than a stiff photo op. Exhibition halls were abruptly shut to the public on Thursday. Companies that had built stalls and pavilions were not amused. The venue, packed with crowds for three days, was largely deserted by the end of the week.
On Wednesday, Galgotias University was asked to vacate its stall. A staff member had presented a commercially available robotic dog (made in China) as the university’s own creation. The internet was not fooled. Neither was anyone else.
Outside, police road closures for VIP movement brought a city of 20 million to a standstill. Attendees were filmed walking miles through central Delhi. No taxis. No shuttles. No plan.
Opposition leader Mahua Moitra reposted one such video on X, writing that the poor management was a blot on India’s reputation globally.
Meanwhile, more than $100 billion in AI investment pledges were announced during the summit, from the Adani Group, Microsoft and data centre firm Yotta among others. The Indian government expects that figure to exceed $200 billion over the next two years.
Analysts, however, have warned the rapid build-out risks straining India’s power grid and water supply.
Also Read: AI Summit 2025: PM Modi Meets Macron, JD Vance in Paris https://www.vibesofindia.com/ai-summit-2025-pm-modi-meets-macron-jd-vance-in-paris/
