Say that again real slow and listen to your words.

The fact that social conventions are arbitrary is wholly irrelevant. Everyone knows, and you are not smart or insightful for pointing it out. Social norms and conventions are arbitrary, evolved constructs. Individually we follow social norms as this is how you get accepted by and participate in society.

Breaking the social norms is generally punished either directly or indirectly. Because human society evolved to favor group cohesion, and acting counter to the rules means you no longer wish to be part of the group.

Please read about social contract theory.

In this case its about showing good judgement. Good judgement is putting the unity of the group above your own petty rivalries, when all the group is asking you to do is hold hands for a photo.

If he holds hands for the photo, it is not going to materially change whether OpenAI outperforms Anthropic or vice versa, but what it shows is a certain level of maturity - Im mature enough to understand the situation here is the projection of ultimate unity, of a greater mission that humanity is all here together, even though our system puts us in competition with each other, and for a moment, I will show that (just like everyone else standing here) I can rise above it, and hold hands for a photo.

It's not a big ask in a physical sense, but its an appeal to the wisdom that ultimately we are all on the same team together on this little floating rock, and maybe, just maybe, for a tiny second, it would be good to acknowledge that.