This Tao dude, does he get invited to a lot of AI conferences (accommodation included)?

He's the most prolific and famous modern mathematician. I'm pretty sure that even if he'd never touched AI, he would be invited to more conferences than he could ever attend.

I know someone who organized a conference where he spoke (this was before the AI boom, probably around 2018 or so) and he got very good accommodations and also a very generous speaking fee.