New Delhi, February 20: Sara Hooker, a globally recognised AI researcher and current CEO of Adaption Labs, became the latest victim of New Delhi’s notorious traffic congestion on Wednesday night. Despite being a VIP invitee to a prestigious gala dinner with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the former Google and Cohere leader was forced to abandon her journey after being stranded in gridlock for four hours.

The incident occurred during the India AI Impact Summit 2026, an event intended to showcase India’s growing influence in the global technology landscape. Hooker, who has previously built world-class AI teams at Google Brain and served as the head of Cohere for AI, shared her ordeal on X (formerly Twitter), describing the logistical failure as a "crap experience." PM Narendra Modi Poses With Global Tech Leaders Including Sam Altman and Sundar Pichai at AI Impact Summit (Watch Videos).

Sara Hooker Missed Dinner With PM Narendra Modi Due to 4 Hour Traffic 

Subbarao Kambhampati Posts About Dining With PM Narendra Modi

Prominent AI expert Subbarao Kambhampati, from Arizona State University, revealed he was seated for a summit dinner with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi but missed it due to a lacking invitation email. Sharing the chart on X, he regretted not meeting fellow pioneer Raj Reddy. All ended well with a family meal.

From Jeans to Gala Attire: A Logistical Nightmare

Hooker had spent the day attending high-level sessions at Bharat Mandapam in her professional attire. Seeking to honour the formality of the Prime Minister’s evening reception, she returned to her hotel to change out of her jeans and into formal gala wear. However, the return journey to the venue proved impossible.

"I got the invite to the gala with the Prime Minister, but got stuck in traffic getting back to the venue after I changed into gala attire," Hooker posted. After enduring 240 minutes of stationary traffic in central Delhi, she ultimately gave up and returned to her hotel. At 11 p.m., she shared a photograph of a "really excellent" room service curry, noting that she was equally honoured to enjoy a quiet meal after the exhausting ordeal.

Security Restrictions and VIP Movement Paralyse Central Delhi

The traffic chaos was not an isolated incident for Hooker. Several delegates at the AI Impact Summit reported significant difficulties reaching the venue due to stringent security protocols. Roads surrounding Bharat Mandapam were blocked for VIP movements, and with the nearest Metro station closed and app-based cabs barred from the restricted zones, many attendees were forced to walk for several kilometres.

Social media was flooded with similar complaints from other high-profile guests. While the summit featured the presence of heads of state and tech titans like Sam Altman, the practical reality of navigating the city’s infrastructure became a dominant talking point. The incident has raised questions about the management of large-scale international summits in the national capital.

Background: A Pioneer in Adaptive AI

Sara Hooker is a central figure in the global AI community, known for her advocacy of "adaptive learning" and her work on the Aya project, which expanded AI capabilities for underrepresented languages. Her presence at the summit was highly anticipated as India seeks to build sovereign, multimodal large language models (LLMs) like BharatGen. AI Impact Summit 2026: PM Narendra Modi and Dutch Counterpart Dick Schoof Discuss Achieving Social Transformation Through Artificial Intelligence (See Pics and Videos).

Despite the missed dinner, Hooker’s contribution to the summit’s technical sessions remained significant. She argued during her keynote that the future of AI lies in efficiency and human-like adaptation rather than simply increasing model size. However, the viral nature of her "room service" post has highlighted the persistent gap between India’s technological ambitions and its urban infrastructure challenges.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 20, 2026 11:40 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).