What we saw at the Indian AI Summit

India hosted one of the world’s biggest AI events this week, but it was marred by chaos and confusion, and a message that clearly differs from the one the country is trying to convey as it strives to become an artificial intelligence powerhouse.

Despite all this drama, technology companies, especially from the US, could not resist the lure of the Indian market and made numerous announcements talking about the potential of AI in India.

I’ve been on the ground in New Delhi since Monday, and I can honestly say that the AI ​​Impact Summit has been one of the most challenging reporting assignments of my career.

Traffic jams are becoming more of a nightmare than usual in India’s capital. There were times when it wouldn’t move at all. Wednesday had events and interviews at three different hotels and it was really tough to get the team on time.

At one point on Thursday, I wasn’t even sure if I would be able to get into the Bharat Mandapam, where the summit was being held. This came as instructions on when media would be allowed to enter were unclear on Thursday, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi began the ceremony.

In the end, I found out that I could enter at 6am local time. When we arrived at the scene, security only let us in later, before a large media crowd gathered at the gate. Inside, guards were giving conflicting instructions.

Several participants expressed to me their dissatisfaction with the organization of the summit.

The event itself was marred by other controversies. Bill Gates, whose name is in Epstein’s file, was scheduled to give the keynote speech. After that, it was uncertain whether he would even show up. The Gates Foundation announced earlier this week that he would speak, but on Thursday announced that the billionaire had declined to speak.

Meanwhile, a university was reportedly kicked out of the summit for suggesting the robot dog it was displaying was its own creation. A professor at Galgotias University told state broadcaster DD News that the robot was actually manufactured by the Chinese company Unitree and was “developed” by an academic institution.

Online users criticized the university, highlighting that the robot was manufactured by a Chinese company. The university denied the claim that it had manufactured the robot.

“Given that developing AI talent is the need of the hour, we would like to clearly state that robot programming is part of our efforts to have students learn AI programming and develop and deploy real-world skills using tools and resources available around the world,” the university said, according to media reports.

India’s IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Tuesday apologized for “issues” on the first day.

And the moment when the two AI giants held hands went viral. Prime Minister Modi welcomed the delegates on stage, all of them holding hands. However, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei did not do as instructed, and the moment quickly came under scrutiny across social media. Altman later explained that she was “confused” and didn’t know what to do.

Days earlier, Anthropic ran a Super Bowl ad criticizing OpenAI’s decision to test ads on ChatGPT.

Despite all these moments, the event brought together a who’s who of the world’s tech names. alphabet Everyone from CEO Sundar Pichai to Altman talked about India’s advantages, from its huge talent pool to its large consumer market.

“The excitement here was incredible to watch,” Altman told me.

These technology companies used the week to make announcements and forge partnerships across India.

OpenAI said it will be the first customer of Tata Consultancy Services’ data center business. Google announced partnerships with researchers and educational institutions for Gemini artificial intelligence capabilities.

All the CEOs I spoke to praised India’s technological development and focus.

The government used the opportunity to tout India’s potential as an AI hub, saying the country aims to attract $200 billion in AI investments over the next two years.

Even the blaring car horns in New Delhi and the chaos at the summit weren’t enough to dampen big technology companies’ enthusiasm for India, which continues to grow as an important and attractive market for the world’s biggest companies.