A carefully orchestrated moment of technological unity at India’s AI Impact Summit instead revealed the deep fissures within the artificial intelligence industry. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s attempt to gather thirteen tech executives in a symbolic hand-joining gesture was undermined when OpenAI’s Sam Altman and Anthropic’s Dario Amodei conspicuously refused to participate.
The two rival CEOs, positioned side-by-side on the stage, maintained visibly separated fists while other industry leaders including Alphabet’s Sundar Pichai complied with the Prime Minister’s request. Body language analysis showed Altman appearing distinctly uncomfortable, diverting his gaze as the unity moment unfolded.
The awkward encounter, captured on video and rapidly disseminated across social media platforms, generated widespread commentary interpreting the incident as emblematic of the intensifying ‘AI cold war’ between the competing firms. Altman later offered a diplomatic explanation to Moneycontrol, stating, ‘I didn’t know what was happening on stage. I wasn’t sure what we were supposed to be doing.’
The summit itself faced multiple challenges beyond this viral moment. Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates withdrew hours before his scheduled keynote address, compounding organizational difficulties that included technical malfunctions with robotic displays and significant traffic disruptions. Despite these setbacks, the event secured substantial investment commitments exceeding $200 billion.
The Altman-Amodei rivalry stems from Anthropic’s 2021 founding by former OpenAI employees who departed over fundamental disagreements regarding AI safety protocols, commercialization approaches, and leadership philosophy. This philosophical divergence has evolved into overt commercial competition, exemplified by Anthropic’s satirical Super Bowl advertisements critiquing OpenAI’s plans to introduce advertising within ChatGPT.