A private Indian university was removed from an artificial intelligence summit in New Delhi on Wednesday after a staffer falsely presented a commercially available robotic dog as the university’s own innovation.
Galgotias University Removed From AI Summit
Galgotias University was ordered to take down its stand at the summit a day after Neha Singh, the university’s professor of communications, told state-run broadcaster DD News that the robotic dog, Orion, was developed by the university’s Centre of Excellence.
Internet users quickly identified the robot as the Unitree Go2, sold by China’s Unitree Robotics, with a starting price of $1,600 and widely used in research and education.
Singh later told reporters she did not explicitly claim the dog was the university’s own creation, but only an exhibit.
The incident caused embarrassment for India, the host country, according to two government officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Galgotias University initially stated it was “deeply pained” and described the incident as a “propaganda campaign” that could harm the morale of students.
In a subsequent statement on Wednesday, the university apologized for the confusion and said Singh, its representative at the summit, was not authorized to speak to the media and was “ill-informed.”
“She was not aware of the technical origins of the product and in her enthusiasm at being on camera, gave factually incorrect information,” the university said.
It was not immediately clear if the university had removed its booth from the summit.
The episode highlights the challenges for India as it seeks to establish itself as a global hub for AI and advanced manufacturing, attracting billions of dollars in investment while maintaining credibility and promoting local innovation.
The India AI Impact Summit, which is billed as a flagship event in the Global South, has been attended by at least 20 heads of state and governments, including French President Emmanuel Macron and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
The summit also includes attendees such as Google’s Chief Executive Sundar Pichai, Qualcomm’s CEO Cristiano Amon, OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman, Microsoft’s President Brad Smith and AMI Labs Executive Chairman Yann LeCun. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to address a session Thursday.
The summit has experienced some organizational issues, including long queues and delays, as well as reports of stolen items from exhibitors, which organizers say have been recovered.
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