At the AI Impact Summit 2026, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said artificial intelligence is not the main driver of recent layoffs, calling out ‘AI washing’ where companies blame automation for job cuts that may stem from broader business decisions.

The interaction, captured on camera and widely shared online, showed Sam Altman of OpenAI and Dario Amodei of Anthropic standing side by side but refraining from holding hands as other leaders joined in a raised-hands pose encouraged by PM Modi.

A brief moment on stage at the India AI Impact Summit 2026 has gone viral after OpenAI’s Sam Altman and Anthropic’s Dario Amodei avoided holding hands during a photo-op, prompting social media users to call it “classic AI cold war vibes”.

He added that it’s “fair” to be concerned about “the energy consumption — not per query, but in total, because the world is now using so much AI.” In his view, this means the world needs to “move towards nuclear or wind and solar very quickly.”

OpenAI’s Sam Altman and Anthropic’s Dario Amodei had an awkward moment at a major AI summit, with the two CEOs of competing AI giants opting not to link hands.

Amodei and Altman’s company have recently sniped at each other over OpenAI’s introduction of ads within its products.