New Delhi: Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates’ participation in the world’s biggest AI summit became a topic of speculation on Tuesday, following conflicting reports. Government sources initially stated he would not attend, but a spokesperson for the Gates Foundation quickly contradicted to say he is indeed participating.
Gates featured among the tech moguls, industry leaders, policymakers, founders, and technologists participating as speakers on the official website of the AI Impact Summit.
Government sources in the morning suggested that Gates will not attend the Summit as his name figures in the files relating to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and may create some discomfort.
The key participant list was decided months in advance, while the Epstein file revelations have been made in recent weeks.
On Tuesday morning, his name went missing from the key participants’ list.
Government sources said Gates will not be attending the Summit, but did not indicate the reason.
However, a spokesperson for his foundation in an emailed response to PTI said, “Bill Gates is attending the AI Impact Summit. He will be delivering his keynote as scheduled”.
He was listed as a keynote speaker on February 19 – the day all the bigwigs will descend at Bharat Mandapam. He was given a 12-minute speaking slot at 1150 hours.
Union Minister for Information & Broadcasting, and Electronics & Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw, who is leading the AI show, did not give a direct reply to reporters at a scheduled press conference when asked about Gates’ participation.
He, however, gave reasons for Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang pulling out of the summit at the last moment.
“I forgot (like) many other things, regarding who’s attending, who’s not attending,” he said in response to questions on the participation of Gates. “That’s personal choices which people make… I need not comment on that.”
