The move by one Indian university has already set off intense outrage and protest. A professor passed off a Chinese-made robotic dog as their original creation at the AI summit in Delhi. The incident unfolded when Neha Singh, a professor from Galgotias University, presented the Go2 model, developed by the Chinese firm Unitree Robotics, as an invention of her university in a video shared online.
The situation blew up further when the video was shared on the official X account of the Minister for IT of India, Ashwini Vaishnaw. After the backlash, Singh sought to clarify her remarks to reporters, claiming that her comments had been misconstrued. She expressed regret, stating, “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.”
The Go2 model quickly became the focal point of the ensuing outrage. It’s already commercially available, at a price of about 200,000 rupees (US$2,200; £1,600). For most summit attendees and observers, it was difficult not to see the incident as a deeply humiliating indictment of the event’s ostensible organizers. India’s IT Secretary S Krishnan emphasized that the controversy should not overshadow the efforts of other participants at the event.
“What happened should not affect the way people present or exhibit their work at such events,” Krishnan remarked. “The idea is not to use an opportunity like this to become something else or create unnecessary noise.”
The five-day summit will include high-level policy discussions, startup showcases and closed-door roundtables focused on policing AI governance, infrastructure and innovation. There are delegates from more than 100 countries at the historic event. Among them are numerous heads of government and industry leaders, such as Google’s Sundar Pichai.
In light of the ensuing backlash over the episode, the university disputed having ever planned to take ownership of the robotic dog. It further characterized the backlash as a “propaganda campaign” to undermine its reputation.
According to media reports, the backlash resulted in a significant reduction in the amount of electricity supplied to the university’s stall. This setback only compounded the difficult work its representatives at the summit had to do.
Onboarding is a key stage to stress the role of ethical presentation and conduct at events. Fingers crossed attendees hope this incident doesn’t overshadow the thoughtful and necessary contributions being made to the nascent field of artificial intelligence.