Several industry leaders in the technology and artificial intelligence (AI) sector have decided to withdraw from the Web Summit, Europe’s premier technology conference, due to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. This decision comes in response to the founder and CEO of Web Summit, Paddy Cosgrave, calling Israel’s actions in response to Hamas’ terror attack “war crimes.” Cosgrave expressed his views on social media, stating that war crimes should be called out regardless of who commits them.
The Web Summit is renowned for its lineup of global tech luminaries and innovative startups, serving as a crucial networking platform in the tech world. The withdrawal of these industry leaders could potentially disrupt the event’s influence and highlight the intersection of technology, politics, and global issues.
In protest, several AI and tech leaders have announced the cancellation of their appearances at the Web Summit. Garry Tan, president and CEO of Y combinator, Ori Goshen, co-founder of AI21 Labs, Ravi Gupta, partner at Sequoia, and Keith Peiris, co-founder and CEO of Tome, have all canceled their participation or speeches at the event.
Furthermore, there are calls for Big Tech sponsors of the Web Summit, such as Intel and AWS, to cancel their sponsorships. Social media users are using the hashtag #cancelwebsummit to amplify their dissent. Additionally, the Israeli ambassador to Portugal has stated that Israel will not participate in the Web Summit’s Lisbon event due to the statements made by Cosgrave.
The impact of these developments reflects the intertwining of technology, politics, and global conflicts. It raises important questions about the role of technology events in addressing and taking a stance on international issues.
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