Why corporate meets are like Durga Pujo
Tired of too many ads?
Remove Ads
Oh, there are few things that can top the buzz of top-notch mindfests , whether it's ET's WLF in Delhi, or WEF's powwow in Davos. But have you noticed the similarities they have with fests like Durga Pujo ? Think about it - attending panels and sessions at these events is really the corporate cousin of pandal-hopping. You start with grand intentions: 'I'll attend the AI ethics panel, the tough tariffs talk, and maybe squeeze in the one on quantum tofu.' But 30 mins in, you're swinging your lanyard - the strap or cord around the neck that acts as your attendance/entry pass - and chewing the cud with someone who calls himself 'Dr Rakesh' and insists he's a thought leader in 'synergistic disruption'.Much like pujo pandals, summit panels are judged by spectacle and buzz. One has LED-lit idols, the other has videos accompanied by soft music. Both involve queues, elbowing strangers, and looking at other people looking at you being suitably moved. The moderator is the pundit doubling as pandit, chanting near-Sanskrit buzzwords like 'scalability' and 'intersectionality', with the fervour of aarti. The panelists, like deities, sit elevated, bathed in spotlight, answering questions no one asked before, with answers that leave you delightfully hungry. And the audience? A mix of devotees, sceptics, and those just here for the excellent, free coffee.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
a few seconds ago
- Business Standard
Meta strikes $10 bn Google Cloud deal to boost AI expansion drive
The accord marks the first major cloud computing deal between Meta and Google, which ranks third in the market behind Inc.'s AWS and Microsoft Corp.'s Azure Bloomberg Meta Platforms Inc. has agreed to a deal worth at least $10 billion with Alphabet Inc.'s Google for cloud computing services, according to people familiar with the matter, part of the social media giant's spending spree on artificial intelligence. Facebook and Instagram's parent company will pay a minimum of $10 billion over six years to use Google Cloud's servers and storage in an effort to quickly bring online more computing power as it competes in the race to offer users AI tools, according to the people, who asked not to be named discussing details of the agreement that remain private. The accord marks the first major cloud computing deal between Meta and Google, which ranks third in the market behind Inc.'s AWS and Microsoft Corp.'s Azure. The Information earlier reported news of the agreement. Google confirmed the deal but didn't have further comment. Meta declined to comment. Meta Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg has pledged to spend hundreds of billions of dollars on AI and the infrastructure needed to support it. While the company has more than two dozen of its own data centers, and is actively constructing more — including a 4 million-square-foot project in rural Louisiana — some won't come online for years. Zuckerberg is seeking to amass the most computing power per AI researcher, and wants to do so quickly. Google Cloud has worked with Meta in the past, though never before as a formal cloud infrastructure provider. In 2023, Google Cloud announced that it would make versions of Meta's open-source AI model, Llama, available through an app developer platform called Vertex AI — part of Google Cloud's strategy to position itself as a flexible, 'one-stop shop' for AI. The distribution deal meant businesses and developers could use Google Cloud to easily access and build applications with Meta's AI models. Meta has also done some smaller experiments with Google Cloud technologies in the past. Bloomberg Intelligence analysts Mandeep Singh and Robert Biggar said in a note on Thursday that the multiyear deal 'validates' Google Cloud's lower token pricing in comparison to other hyperscalers. Meanwhile, 'Meta is likely to focus more of its efforts on improving the reasoning capabilities of its Llama model, given the traction of other frontier models in search, coding agents and real-time summaries and language translation,' the analysts wrote.
Mint
an hour ago
- Mint
ChatGPT maker says Elon Musk turned to Mark Zuckerberg for help financing $97 billion OpenAI bid
OpenAI has claimed in a court filing that Elon Musk tried to enlist Mark Zuckerberg in his $97 billion bid to takeover ChatGPT maker. The company stated that Musk had identified Meta CEO as one of the people with whom he had communicated about potentially financing the takeover bid. OpenAI via its lawyers is now asking for Meta to produce any evidence related to coordination with Musk and his startup xAI related to acquiring or investing in the company. The request was made by the ChatGPT maker in a public brief filed on Thursday in Musk's lawsuit against it. The lawyers for OpenAI had requested for a subponea in July and are now asking for a court order to obtain this evidence. OpenAI has also asked the court for any of Meta's documents and communications related to Meta objected to OpenAI's initial subpoena in July; the ChatGPT-maker's lawyers are now seeking a court order to obtain such evidence. OpenAI is also asking the court for any of Meta's documents and communications related to 'any actual or potential restructuring or recapitalization of OpenAI', as per TechCrunch. Meta reportedly asked the court to turn down this request, stating (as per Bloomberg), 'Meta's documents can hold no evidence of 'coordination' with Musk, or of Meta's purported attempt to purchase OpenAI, or of any other relevant information when Meta did not join Musk's bid.' 'Meta's communications (if any) with entities that did join the bid also hold little to no relevance, and in any event, should be sought from those entities, not Meta, which did not participate,' the company further added Notably, OpenAI and Elon Musk have a long term history with the billionaire being among one of the founders of the company till he cut ties with it in 2018. Musk then began a renewed attack on OpenAI after the public rollout of ChatGPT in late 2022 and then went to file two lawsuits against the AI startup alleging that it has strayed away from its founding principles of developing AI for the benefit of humanity in favour of profit seeking motive. Meanwhile, Musk and Zuckerberg aren't known to be on the best of terms either. In fact, the duo frequently engaged in a banter on social media after Meta had launched its X alternative app called Threads. Things came to a boiling point between the two billionaires when Musk challenged Zuckerberg for a cage fight match, a challenge which the Meta CEO accepted as well but the idea of actual match frizzled out in the intervening months.
Economic Times
an hour ago
- Economic Times
World watches as two-day ET WLF kicks off today, bringing together the big names
The stage is set. The speakers are here. An intellectual feast spread across two days is about to open. ET's flagship summit — World Leaders Forum—is set for a high-voltage launch today ADVERTISEMENT Bringing together the big names that matter from home and afar, this year's WLF promises a blend of inspiration, innovation, and impact. With generously sprinkled headline acts and power-packed sessions, the WLF venue in the heart of Lutyens Delhi will buzz with the Capital's most influential. The action will peak on Saturday evening when Prime Minister Narendra Modi takes stage in front of the exclusive, invite-only gathering of stars from global and Indian business, politics, technology and entertainment. WLF will witness special sessions by the top ministers in the Union cabinet, including Rajnath Singh, defence minister; Nitin Gadkari, minister for road transport and highways; S Jaishankar, minister for external affairs; and Piyush Goyal, minister for commerce and industry. Global business leaders such as Christoph Schweizer, CEO, BCG; Mohamed Kande, Chairman, PwC; Vishal Sikka, BMW board member and founder of Vianai Systems; Dame Sharon White, managing director, CDPQ; Sir Martin Sorrell, chairman of S4 Capital; and Jonathan Ross, CEO of Groq, will all share their perspective on the way of the future at this year's WLF. ADVERTISEMENT Shaping the India of TomorrowJoining them on stage would be Federico J González, CEO, Radisson Hotel Group; Ritu Arora, CEO-Asia Pacific, Allianz Investment Management; David Steinbach, global CIO of Hines; and Rajat Taneja, presidenttechnology at Visa. In a world shaped by shifting geopolitical currents, few voices carry the weight of experience like those of former US presidential candidate John Kerry. At ET's flagship summit, his insights promise to offer clarity and perspective in uncertain times. Celebrated author and parliamentarian Shashi Tharoor will also speak on the shifting grammar of contemporary geopolitics. ADVERTISEMENT Former Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, who steered his country through a series of complex geopolitical challenges—from the European debt crisis and the civil war in Libya to Russia's intervention in Crimea and the rise of the Islamic State in West Asia—will offer his perspective on a rapidly changing global in the true spirit of federalism, various chief ministers will present a case for their state in shaping the India of tomorrow. ADVERTISEMENT Mohan Yadav, chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, will paint a picture of his state's role in the rise of India, while Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu will deliberate on transforming the new India's objective from smart cities to smart states. Nayab Singh Saini, chief minister of Haryana, will share the global ambitions of his state, while Pushkar Singh Dhami, chief minister of Uttarakhand, will be on stage to talk about unlocking the potential of the Himalayan burning issues of the day, from energy transition to bollywood transformation will be discussed threadbare by eminent panelists. ADVERTISEMENT There will be sessions on the topics that matter, including artificial intelligence, the new flow of capital, women's role in India's growth; with former union minister Smriti Irani sharing her observations. Other prominent voices that will resound during the two days of WLF include Gautam Singhania of Raymond, designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee, Ipsita Das of Moët Hennessy India; Puneet Chhatwal of IHCL, Sandeep Ghosh of Visa, Rahul Jain of BCG, Sanjog Gupta of ICC, cricketer Mithali Raj, chef Gaggan Anand, Praveer Sinha of Tata Power, Girish Tanti of Suzlon, Sanjeev Krishan of PwC India, Rishit Jhunjhunwala of Truecaller, Akis Evangelidis of Nothing and Nigel Vaz of Publicis Sapient, among others. Adding a heady sprinkling of stardust to proceedings will be actors Janhvi Kapoor and Sidharth Malhotra, who will be part of a panel dissecting the Hindi film industry's push to transform itself.
