India’s inaugural AI Impact Summit descended into organizational disarray on Thursday as billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates abruptly canceled his keynote address mere hours before delivery. The Gates Foundation issued a statement indicating the withdrawal was intended “to ensure the focus remains on the AI Summit’s key priorities,” though the announcement followed earlier assurances of his participation.
The high-profile cancellation compounds existing challenges for India’s flagship artificial intelligence forum, which has been plagued by multiple operational failures. The summit, positioned as the Global South’s premier AI gathering, subsequently lost another keynote participant with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang also withdrawing from scheduled appearances.
Despite these setbacks, the event maintains significant political backing with scheduled addresses from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron. Technology leadership remains represented by Google CEO Sundar Pichai, OpenAI’s Sam Altman, and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei.
Organizational deficiencies have dominated summit proceedings rather than technological innovations. In a surprising development, exhibition halls were closed to the public on Thursday, generating substantial attendee frustration. The controversy deepened when Galgotias University was compelled to vacate its exhibition space after presenting a commercially available Chinese robotic dog as proprietary technology.
Transportation chaos has exacerbated the situation, with social media documenting extensive traffic disruptions throughout Delhi. Attendees reported walking miles through the capital city due to road closures for VIP movements, absent shuttle services, and completely unavailable taxi transportation.
The Gates Foundation cancellation follows recent disclosures from the U.S. Department of Justice regarding communications between foundation staff and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Documents revealed multiple meetings between Gates and Epstein following Epstein’s prison term, though Gates maintains these interactions were strictly philanthropy-related and represented a personal error in judgment.