Billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates has cancelled his scheduled keynote address at a major artificial intelligence summit in India after his name appeared in newly released documents linked to late financier Jeffrey Epstein.
According to AFP, the decision was confirmed on Thursday morning by the Gates Foundation, which said the move was taken to keep attention on the event’s core agenda.
“After careful consideration, and to ensure the focus remains on the AI Summit’s key priorities, Gates will not be delivering his keynote address,” the foundation said in a statement.
It added that the organisation remained committed to its programmes in India.
“The Gates Foundation remains fully committed to our work in India to advance our shared health and development goals,” the statement said.
Naija News understands that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and leading technology executives are expected to speak on the opportunities and risks posed by artificial intelligence at the summit taking place in New Delhi.
The foundation noted that the president overseeing its Africa and India operations would deliver a speech in place of Gates.
The development follows the release of a fresh tranche of documents by the US Justice Department containing emails involving several prominent figures and Epstein, who died by suicide in prison in 2019.
Among the documents was a draft email in which Epstein allegedly claimed Gates engaged in extramarital affairs.
However, Gates denied the claims and rejected the authenticity of the email.
“Every minute I spent with him, I regret, and I apologize,” Gates said in an interview with 9News Australia.
“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?” he added.
A spokesperson for Gates also issued a denial after the release of the documents, saying they reflected Epstein’s frustration rather than evidence of wrongdoing.
“The only thing these documents demonstrate is Epstein’s frustration that he did not have an ongoing relationship with Gates and the lengths he would go to entrap and defame,” the spokesperson said.
Meanwhile, Gates’ former wife, Melinda French Gates, said the document release revived difficult moments from their marriage.
Speaking to NPR, she said, “The document dump brought back memories of some very, very painful times in my marriage.
“Whatever questions remain there of what, I can’t even begin to know all of it, those questions are for those people and for even my ex-husband. They need to answer to those things, not me.”
The couple finalised their divorce in 2021 after nearly three decades of marriage.