India AI Summit: Robot Dog Faux Pas Sparks Outrage

An incident at the India AI Impact Summit has led to significant controversy after a professor from Galgotias University falsely presented a Chinese-made robot dog as an indigenous creation. The professor, Neha Singh, told state media that the robot, named Orion, was developed by the university's Centre of Excellence. However, social media users promptly identified the robot as the Unitree Go2, a product of China's Unitree Robotics, widely used globally and costing approximately $2,800.

This event has drawn sharp criticism and amplified embarrassment, especially after the Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology shared the video clip, though his post was later deleted. Galgotias University and Professor Singh subsequently issued statements clarifying that the robot was not a university creation and they had never claimed otherwise, emphasizing their focus on cultivating future innovators.

The Indian National Congress opposition party seized on the incident to criticize Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration, calling the display "brazenly shameless" and accusing the government of making India a "laughing stock" in AI on the global stage. The summit, which aims to be the first major AI gathering in the Global South, has also faced organizational challenges, including overcrowding and logistical issues, despite substantial investment pledges.

The India AI Impact Summit is scheduled to run until Saturday, with prominent figures like Google CEO Sundar Pichai and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman set to address attendees. Despite the embarrassment, significant investments exceeding $100 billion in Indian AI projects have been pledged during the event.