Bill Gates cancels India summit speech to 'ensure focus' on AI

NEW DELHI: Bill Gates has cancelled a scheduled keynote address at a major artificial intelligence summit in India, his foundation confirmed on Wednesday, after the Microsoft co-founder was named in newly released documents related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

In a statement, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation said the decision was made to ensure the focus of the event remained on its central themes.

“After careful consideration, and to ensure the focus remains on the AI Summit's key priorities, Mr Gates will not be delivering his keynote address,” the foundation said. It added that the president of its Africa and India offices would speak in his place.

The cancellation comes after the US Justice Department released a new tranche of documents linked to investigations into Epstein, who died by suicide in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges.

Among the documents is a draft email in which Epstein allegedly claimed that Gates had engaged in extramarital affairs. The email, which was not sent, included unverified allegations about Gates’ personal conduct.

Gates has strongly denied the claims.

“Every minute I spent with him, I regret, and I apologize,” Gates told 9News Australia in a recent interview, referring to his past meetings with Epstein. “That email was never sent. The email is false. I don't know what his thinking was there. Was he trying to attack me in some way?”

A spokesperson for Gates also rejected the allegations following the document release, saying the files demonstrate Epstein’s “frustration that he did not have an ongoing relationship with Gates and the lengths he would go to entrap and defame.”

Gates’ former wife, Melinda French Gates, told US National Public Radio that the release of the documents revived painful memories from their marriage.

“Whatever questions remain there — I can't even begin to know all of it — those questions are for those people and for even my ex-husband,” she said. “They need to answer to those things, not me.”

The couple divorced in 2021 after 27 years of marriage.

The Gates Foundation reiterated its commitment to its work in India, particularly in health and development initiatives, despite the controversy surrounding the document release.