Altman, Amodei's awkward fist gesture in photo-op at AI Impact Summit
The moment unfolded after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address at the India AI Impact Summit, when global technology leaders posed for a group photograph on stage
 "Altman, Amodei's awkward fist gesture in photo-op at AI Impact Summit")
OpenAI Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman and Anthropic Chief Executive Officer Dario Amodei raised their fists instead of holding hands during a group photograph with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the India AI Impact Summit on Thursday.
The moment occurred on stage after the Prime Minister’s address when global technology leaders assembled for a photograph.
Google Chief Executive Officer Sundar Pichai stood with other executives as Modi held the hands of leaders on either side and asked others to join.
Altman and Amodei, who stood next to each other, did not join the chain and instead raised their fists. They remained apart while others followed the gesture. The moment was captured on camera and soon went viral on social media.
Reacting to the moment, Altman said, “I was sort of confused and did not know what I was supposed to do.”
“I did not know what was happening,” Altman said when asked about the moment. “I was sort of confused. (Prime Minister) Modi grabbed my hand and put it up, and I just was not sure what we were supposed to be doing. I thought it was the o’clock,” the OpenAI CEO was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
Background to rivalry
The two executives worked together at OpenAI before Dario Amodei left the organisation. In late 2020, Amodei, his sister Daniela Amodei and several senior researchers departed following disagreements with Sam Altman and the board over the company’s direction. They went on to found Anthropic in 2021, the company behind the Claude series of language models.
Altman and Amodei have often differed in their approach to artificial intelligence.
The OpenAI board reportedly approached Amodei after it abruptly ousted Altman on November 17, 2023. Amodei declined the offer, and Altman returned to lead the company days later after an internal dispute.
Last month, Anthropic released Super Bowl advertisements that referred to OpenAI’s reported plans to test advertising formats for free users and ChatGPT Go subscribers in the United States.
In a post on X, Altman, reacting to the campaign, said, “I guess it is on brand for Anthropic doublespeak to use a deceptive ad to critique theoretical deceptive ads that are not real, but a Super Bowl ad is not where I would expect it.”