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New Delhi: “I was sort of confused and didn't know what I was supposed to do,” Sam Altman, the tech entrepreneur leading OpenAI, said on Thursday, recalling an awkward onstage moment with rival AI firm Anthropic’s CEO Dario Amodei at the India AI Impact Summit.
The moment played out after the summit’s inaugural session, when Altman and Amodei joined other technology leaders on stage for a group photograph with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Meta’s Chief AI Officer Alexandr Wang, Sarvam co-founder Pratyush Kumar, and Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis were among those present for the photo-op.
Modi stood at the centre, with Pichai on his right and Altman on his left. Amodei, a former OpenAI executive who later co-founded Anthropic, stood next to Altman.
As cameras flashed, Modi and several others held their hands up. Altman and Amodei appeared briefly unsure whether to shake hands, clasp arms, throw their arms up, or simply pose. While others held hands aloft, the two ended up with clasped fists raised.
“I didn't know what was happening,” Altman said when asked about the moment. “I was sort of confused, like (Prime Minister) Modi grabbed my hand and put it up, and I just wasn't sure what we were supposed to be doing. I thought it was the open clock.”
Altman, 40, and Amodei, who is three years older, worked together at OpenAI until 2019. Amodei, his sister Daniela, and other senior researchers left in 2020 amid disagreements with Altman and the board over the company’s direction. The Amodei siblings later founded Anthropic.
Since the split, the two executives have often differed on how AI should be developed and governed.
Amodei was also reportedly approached by the OpenAI board after it abruptly ousted Altman on November 17, 2023. Amodei declined, and Altman returned within days after a dramatic internal battle.
Competition between OpenAI and Anthropic has since sharpened into a commercial fight. Anthropic has run satirical Super Bowl ads this year that mocked OpenAI’s reported plans to add advertising to ChatGPT.