One Indian university is getting slammed as well. This is all thanks to its questionable claim of inventing the world’s first robotic dog at the recent AI summit in Delhi. The episode played out over the first five days of this year. Delegates from more than 100 countries were present including a dozen heads of governments in attendance as well as industry leaders like Google’s Sundar Pichai. In short, the university actively misrepresented the Go2 model. UniTReE, the Chinese company that made this robotic dog, sells it for less than 200,000 rupees (around $2,200 or £1,600).
Neha Singh, an assistant professor at the university, claimed that it was her university’s creation, but she did not set the record straight. Nevertheless, she was forced to walk back the statement when she realized her comments were being misinterpreted. This clarification was made in response to growing criticism, protest, and resistance from participants and the general public.
“It might be that I could not convey well what I wanted to say, or you could not understand well what I wanted to say,” – Neha Singh
The public backlash only intensified once a video of the robotic dog went viral. Credited on the official X account of India’s Minister of Tech, Ashwini Vaishnaw. After the situation turned tragic, the summit’s planners were left humiliated. Then they taciturnly shut down the power for the booth with the robotic dog.
India’s IT Secretary S. Krishnan punched the naysayers in the nose. He challenged everyone to maintain that fire and concentration on the numerous meaningful contributions from other attendees at the summit. He did not shrink from insisting that the proper code of conduct be observed at such international monstrosities.
“What happened should not affect the way people present or exhibit their work at such events. The idea is not to use an opportunity like this to become something else or create unnecessary noise,” – S Krishnan
The AI summit accomplished the critical task of clearing the air for frank discussions on governance, infrastructure, and innovation surrounding artificial intelligence. With so many prominent leaders and delegates in attendance, the atmosphere was full of collaboration and inspiration to push the envelope in this quickly evolving space. The situation with the robotic dog has overshadowed all these goals and intentions.
The university was adamant that it did not follow through on the allegations to produce the robotic dog. It further described the push back as an “astroturf propaganda campaign.” What the summit organizers need to focus on now is the backlash from this unacceptable incident. Like us, they are committed to fostering constructive conversations around the rapid developments taking place in AI.