Chaos marks Day 1 of AI Impact Summit
Visitors flag overcrowding, issues with access cards, poor Internet connectivity and list of banned items
The India AI Impact Summit-2026 in Delhi opened to chaos with visitors complaining about overcrowding, issues with access cards, poor Internet connectivity and a list of banned items that included laptops and food.
Several people shared their experience of X, and posted about long queues, restricted movement inside the venue and what they felt was a mismatch between the event’s ambition and execution. Some attendees went as far as questioning whether the summit reflected the future of AI at all, claiming that beyond branding and posters, there was little visible use of artificial intelligence in the public-facing experience.
Another widely shared post alleged that exhibitors, startup founders and delegates were left waiting outside for hours. “No water. No clarity. Media shows celebration. Ground reality was chaos,” a user wrote, questioning why access limitations were not communicated in advance.
Another X user posted a picture from inside the venue and termed it as bizarre list of items banned on the premises — including car keys, laptops, bags and food. “Long queues at major entry points at the main gate, exhibition halls, and even to grab a coffee," the user wrote.
“At 12 noon, security personnel arrived to sanitise and cordon off the area ahead of PM Modi’s visit at 2 pm. I explained that we’re building India’s first patented AI wearable at NeoSapien and requested a chance to showcase it. One officer told others to let me stay, and they left. Then another group came and ordered us to leave immediately....But later when we returned, we found out that our wearables were stolen,” posted Dhananjay Yadav, CEO, NeoSapien.
The complaints also extended to basic connectivity. One attendee pointed out the irony of patchy mobile Internet at a technology-focused event, writing, “Mobile Internet is barely working at the India AI Impact Summit”.
Several others echoed similar concerns, flagging the lack of digital infrastructure at a technology-focused event — from the absence of AI-enabled badge printing and stall navigation to long queues for basic entry.
Amid the criticism, one of the users offered a more measured view. Claiming to have walked nearly 7 km across the expo, The user said the experience suggested India was “taking up AI with gusto,” highlighting stalls by Qualcomm, the Indian Navy, Jio Intelligence and the World Food Programme.
According to official details, the AI Impact Summit-2026 features over 500 events alongside its main programme. The summit is built around the themes of people, planet and Progress, with a stated focus on fostering international cooperation for a sustainable AI ecosystem. Multiple parallel sessions are happening at the same time, and all of them are packed to capacity.
