Galgotias University faces heat at India AI Summit over 'Chinese robodog' row; govt steps in — All we know

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday (Feb 18) reacted to the recent controversy over Galgotias University's presence at India AI Impact Summit and its claims about a China-manufactured Robodog. Gandhi said that the AI summit is a “disorganised PR spectacle.” He claimed that Indian data is up for sale and Chinese products are showcased in the summit. He shared a screenshot of his party's X post in which it had claimed that Chinese media mocked India after Galgotias University showcased Chinese robots as their own. Meanwhile, as the controversy broke out, Galgotias University issued a statement and news agency PTI quoted government sources and said that the university has been asked to leave the venue of the summit.

What is the controversy?

Galgotias University faced online backlash after a video went viral in which a woman representing the university claimed that Galgotias’s Centre of Excellence had developed “Orion” while explaining the features of the robotic dog Chinese-made robotic dog. "We are the first private university investing more than 500 crore Rs in artificial intelligence...So, Orion has been developed by Centre of Excellence. It can see all shapes and do many tasks," the woman said. The robodog is actually known as Unitree Go2, a commercially available model from the Chinese robotics company Unitree that is sold online in India for between Rs 2 lakh and Rs 3 lakh.

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WATCH what the woman said?

Soon after the video, IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw shared the image of the robodog while highlighting India's achievement in the field of technology, innovation and AI. However, X later added a disclaimer over it saying that the "robot is imported from China." Congress took to X to share screenshot of Chinese media seemingly slamming Indian university for projecting Chinese robot as their own. “The Modi government has made a laughing stock of India globally, with regard to AI. In the ongoing AI summit, Chinese robots are being displayed as our own. The Chinese media has mocked us. This is truly embarrassing for India. What is even more shameful is the fact that Modi’s minister Ashwini Vaishnaw is indulging in the same falsehood, promoting China's robots at the Indian summit. The Modi Government has caused irreparable damage to the image of the country - they have reduced AI to a joke - a field in which we could be world leaders given our data power,” Congress wrote.

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Galgotias University issues statement

Issuing a statement after the controversy broke out, Galgotias University said that the faculty and students are deeply pained by the propaganda campaign against the university. "We would like to clearly state that the 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 need of an hour.
Our university's vision is focused on student learning & innovation and we provide students with access to modern technologies so they can gain practical experience and prepare for the future. Spreading negativity can harm the morale of students, who are working hard to innovate, learn, and build their skills using global technologies."

About the Robodog , the statement added, “Galgotias has not built this robodog, neither have we claimed. But what we are building are minds that will soon design, engineer, and manufacture such technologies right here in Bharat. Innovation knows no borders…This is not about importing technology. This is about inspiring transformation.” However, based on several posts, X added a disclaimer under the statement by the university saying that there is no propaganda involved. “Galgotias University did claim on camera that the robot was built by their center of excellence team. There is no propaganda here,” the disclaimer read.

Galgotias University kicked out of the summit?

News agency PTI quoted government sources and stated that the Galgotias University has been asked to vacate its stall at the AI Summit Expo immediately. However, there is no official statement by the government or the university confirming that they have been asked to exit.