00:00Bill Gates pulled out of India's AI Impact Summit on Thursday,
00:04hours before he was scheduled to deliver a keynote address.
00:08That adds to a difficult opening for a summit billed as the first major AI forum in the Global South.
00:14Organisational lapses, a robot row, and complaints of traffic chaos have marred the flagship event.
00:20And it suffered another high-profile absence after NVIDIA said earlier this week
00:26that CEO Jensen Juan would not be attending.
00:30The Gates cancellation comes after the U.S. Department of Justice released emails last month
00:35including communication between the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein
00:40and the Gates Foundation's staff.
00:43Gates Foundation India said in a post on X that the decision was to ensure the focus
00:49remains on the AI Summit's key priorities.
00:52The documents indicate Gates and Epstein met repeatedly after Epstein's prison term
00:58to discuss expanding Gates' philanthropic efforts.
01:01Gates has said the relationship was confined to philanthropy-related discussions
01:06and that it was a mistake for him to meet with Epstein.
01:09Just days ago, the Foundation had dismissed rumors of his absence
01:13and insisted he was on track to attend.
01:16Nevertheless, the six-day event has notched more than $200 billion in investment pledges
01:22for AI infrastructure in India as New Delhi seeks to position itself
01:26as a leading voice in worldwide AI governance.
02:18Next, please look into the camera.
02:25Please look into the camera.
02:26Yes, we will.
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