- The bizarre moment Sam Altman and Dario Amodei had an encounter at the India AI Summit has gone viral.
- The two AI leaders – and his former colleagues – raised their arms but did not hold hands.
- Tech leaders, including Sundar Pichai, gathered on stage with Narendra Modi in New Delhi.
The world’s top AI leaders gathered in New Delhi this week, ready to talk about the latest models and their impact on societies. They seemed less than willing to hold the hand of 14 people that will be remembered in tech circles for a long time.
On Thursday, top executives, including Demis Hassabis, Sundar Pichai, Brad Smith, Sam Altman, and Dario Amodei, lined up on stage with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the India AI Impact Summit.
In his characteristic style, Modi grabbed Pichai’s hands on his right and Altman’s on his left and began raising their linked arms for a celebratory photo. Modi has previously taken photos in this way with world leaders, including former US President Joe Biden and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Other tech executives were quick to heed Modi’s directive, looking left and right before grabbing their neighbor’s hand.
The most photo-worthy scene was the inability — or rejection — of the OpenAI and Anthropic executives to hold each other’s hands. After a pause, they raised their arms without making contact.
The moment was widely photographed and shared on social media.
The awkward moment came on the heels of a Super Bowl announcement between the two AI giants earlier this month. Anthropic 30-second commercial OpenAI was roasted by its decision to bring… Advertisements on ChatGPT.
After Anthropic released a series of teasers for its Super Bowl ad, Altman responded with a lengthy post on X, calling the Anthropic ad “dishonest.”
Amodei co-founded Anthropic in 2021 after leaving OpenAI, citing disagreements over AI safety priorities and the lab’s leadership style.
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