New Delhi, February 18 The internet never forgets, and the cutthroat world of social media probably won't let you pass off a Chinese product as a Greater Noida innovation, private university Galgotias found out the hard way on Wednesday, when they were forced to leave the AI Impact Summit.
University representatives showcased a robotic dog named Orion on Tuesday, claiming it was developed by the Centre of Excellence at Galgotias, prompting social media users to highlight that it was a Unitree Go2, manufactured by China's Unitree Robotics and commonly used in research and education worldwide.
Despite being challenged, the private university made a desperate attempt to justify its actions through Wednesday, such as saying that what one person considered six might be nine for another, but eventually issued an apology after the organizers cut power to their stall at the event and asked them to leave.
IT Secretary S Krishnan said that the government did not want any exhibitor to showcase items that were not their own. "We do not want such exhibits to continue," he said, after the organizers asked Galgotias to vacate the stall.
In its apology, Galgotias University said that the person "in charge of the pavilion was misinformed."
"She was not aware of the technical origins of the products and, in her enthusiasm of being on camera, gave factually incorrect information, even though she was not authorized to speak to the press," the university said.
Stating that there was "no institutional intent to misrepresent this innovation," the university said that it remained firmly committed to academic integrity, transparency, and responsible representation of its work. It said that they vacated the premises "understanding the organizer's sentiment."
Neha Singh, a professor of communications at the university's school of management, showed Orion to DD News on Tuesday, saying that it "has been developed by the Centre of Excellence at Galgotias University." After social media users pointed out that the robot was actually a Unitree Go2, the episode invited widespread ridicule and drew political criticism on Wednesday.
"Instead of leveraging India's talent and data, the AI summit is a disorganized PR spectacle - Indian data up for sale, Chinese products showcased," Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said in a post on X.
Amid the backlash, both Galgotias and Singh said the robot was not a university creation and that the institution had never claimed otherwise. "The controversy happened because things may not have been expressed clearly and the intent may not have been properly understood," professor Singh said.
"What one person considers six, another might consider nine. Perhaps I was unable to express what I wanted to say because of the limited time or the noise around us," she said.
"Regarding the robot dog, we cannot claim that we manufactured it. I have told everyone that we introduced it to our students to inspire them to create something better on their own. Our university contributes to building future leaders by providing cutting-edge technologies in the field of AI, and it will continue to do so."
IT Secretary Krishnan, however, emphasised that the government would not tolerate exhibits misrepresented as original creations.
"If you mislead... we do not want a controversy (and) so we do not want a controversial agency... whom people believe are exhibiting something which is not theirs," he said.
Abhishek Singh, Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, said the intention is not to stifle innovation but it should not be misleading. The controversy "should not overshadow the kind of effort that the others have put in," he said.
The statement issued by the Greater Noida-based institution said, "Robotic programming is part of our endeavour to make students learn AI programming and develop and deploy real world skills using globally available tools and resources, given developing AI talent is the need of the hour."
Stating that its faculty and students were "deeply pained by the propaganda campaign" against the institution, the university said its vision is focused on student learning and innovation, and that it provides students access to modern technologies to help them gain practical experience and prepare for the future.
