“If I can keep up with them at family dinner…”: Rishi Sunak’s playful 'in-laws' remark steals the India AI summit spotlight

Artificial intelligence was the main agenda. Big ideas, serious faces and deep tech conversations filled the hall at the AI Impact Summit in New Delhi. But in the middle of all the AI talk, it was one simple and witty line from former UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak that truly grabbed attention and went viral.The moment was light, honest, and very human. And in no time, social media picked it up. During an interactive session at the summit, Sunak was asked whether he would be able to keep pace with the kind of technical discussions expected at such a high-level artificial intelligence event.Instead of giving a formal answer, he chose humour.“If I can keep up with them (the in-laws) at family dinner, I can probably handle the summit discussions."The audience responded with laughter. It was a short sentence, but it said a lot.Sunak is married to Akshata Murty, daughter of N. R. Narayana Murthy, the co-founder of Indian IT giant Infosys, and Sudha Murty.While elaborating on his comment, Sunak explained why his family dinners are no less than a tech summit.“It was like, are you going to be able to really keep up with the technical discussions that are going to happen here? And I said to this person, ‘You know what? My wife’s uncle is an astrophysics professor at Caltech, my mother-in-law was one of the first female engineers at Telco, my brother-in-law is a computer scientist, and my father-in-law founded a software company. I said, ‘If I can keep up with them at family dinner, I can probably handle the summit discussions,'" he said.The comparison instantly connected with the audience. It brought a personal touch to a serious artificial intelligence platform.Sunak also spoke openly about his own academic background while addressing the gathering.“To my parents’ great disappointment, I didn’t have a STEM degree, which they were sad about… it was something that my team brought up when we hosted that first summit, and we were inviting all the leading frontier labs, and we were going to have these conversations," Sunak added.In a room full of experts and scientists discussing artificial intelligence and innovation, this candid admission stood out.The AI Impact Summit in New Delhi focused on artificial intelligence collaboration and innovation. The conversations were about technology, research, and global partnerships.Yet, it was this easy and relatable remark by Rishi Sunak that became the highlight. His reference to his in-laws, his comfort while speaking about the Murthy family, and his light tone made the session memorable.Disclaimer: This report is based on publicly available videos and event coverage. The statements mentioned are taken from recorded remarks and have not been independently verified.Thumb image: X