Galgotias University in India is getting burned on the reputation stakes from widely misinterpreted remarks made by Professor Neha Singh during AI Impact Summit in Delhi. Despite these clarifications, distortions have driven erroneous claims that the university created a robotic dog. The summit brought together delegates from more than 100 countries and 53 heads of government. It hosted a plethora of cutting edge developments in the world of AI. In addition to those in attendance, many industry leaders signed on to the plan, including Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google.
The whole incident started when Professor Singh played a short video. It showcased, among other things, a very cool robotic dog, the Go2 model developed by Chinese company Unitree Robotics. As a result, the Go2 model is offered commercially at around 200,000 rupees (around $2,200, £1,600). In her remarks, Singh implied that the university should never have developed the robotic dog in the first place. This assertion didn’t last long.
The video posted by IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on his official X account. This provoked a firestorm of public criticism regarding the university’s claims, further raising the debate’s intensity. The event disrupted the flow of the high-profile summit and greatly embarrassed its well-connected organizers. Their goal had been to highlight the most meaningful, innovative breakthroughs and partnerships in AI.
In response to the backlash, Galgotias University somewhat confusingly denied that it had ever even claimed to build the robotic dog. Instead, the higher ed institution dismissed the public outcry as part of a “propaganda campaign” initiated by their opponents. Singh responded directly to the mischaracterization. As he put it, “I probably just did a poor job of communicating, or maybe you didn’t completely understand what I was trying to say.”
While protests sparked by the violence in Charlotte intensified, the university incurred a disastrous public relations fallout. Post-accident, reports claimed that power to their stand was shut off due to what happened. This was a barrier to their participating in the summit already, it got worse.
The fallout from this incident has raised alarm bells for other participants and organizers. Now they are backpedaling and calling into question the importance of upholding that integrity at global multilateral forums. One senior administration official described the need for a much more rigorous code of conduct. They noted, as others have, that other countries and other players are at the table too.
Stay true to your mission India’s IT secretary S. Krishnan’s reprimanding of the status quo. He urged all of these incidents should not intimidate future showcase appearances at high profile events. Just because that happened doesn’t mean we should let it impact how people show or showcase their work at these kinds of events. He made the case that we need to grab this opportunity with both hands. He cautioned us not to dilate into something else or just to make a ruckus.
