Bill Gates Skips AI Impact Summit Hours Before His Scheduled Keynote

New Delhi: After a robot row and delegates’ complaints over traffic disruptions in the capital, India’s flagship event, AI Impact Summit, on Thursday faced yet another blow as Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates pulled out of the summit hours before his scheduled keynote address on Thursday.

As per the Gates Foundation, the decision comes after organisers expressed discomfort at giving Gates the stage after his name appeared in documents related to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. However, the foundation has not mentioned any other reason in this matter.

On February 17, the government sources had stated that an invitation extended to Gates for the Summit, much before the Epstein episode was revealed, had been withdrawn, and he will not be participating in the five-day conference that started on February 16. On that day, a spokesperson for the Gates Foundation quickly contradicted, saying that he will be indeed participating.

Two days later, the foundation said that he would not speak at the summit so as not to shift the focus of the summit; rather Ankur Vora, president of Africa and India Offices, will represent the foundation. “The Gates Foundation will be represented by Ankur Vora, President of Africa and India Offices, who will speak later today at the Summit," the Gates Foundation said in a post on X.

“After careful consideration, and to ensure the focus remains on the AI Summit's key priorities, Mr Gates will not be delivering his keynote address. It remains fully committed to its work in India to advance shared health and development goals,” the foundation said.

Gates was featured among the top tech giants, industry leaders, policymakers, founders, and technologists participating as speakers on the official website of the AI Impact Summit. Meanwhile, Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Meta's Chief AI Officer Alexandr Wang, Sarvam co-founder Pratyush Kumar, and Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis, among other tech leaders, attended the summit.

While Gates has not been accused of wrongdoing by any of Epstein's victims, records released by the US justice department include an allegation by Epstein that Bill Gates caught a sexually transmitted disease. Gates’s spokesperson had previously called the claim ‘absolutely absurd’.

Gates arrived in India on Monday. His first stop during the visit was Vijayawada, where he met Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, Deputy Chief Minister K Pawan Kalyan, and senior state government officials. Ministers Nara Lokesh, Vangalapudi Anitha, K Atchannaidu, and Y Satya Kumar welcomed Gates at the Vijayawada international airport on Monday.