New Delhi: Private University Galgotias has been asked to vacate its stall at the AI Impact Summit after a controversy over the display of a made-in-China robotic dog as its own innovation.
Following the controversy, IT Secretary S Krishnan said the government does not want any exhibitor to showcase items that are not their own.
“We do not want such exhibits to continue,” he said, after organisers asked Galgotias University to vacate its stall.
Later in the day in a statement, Galgotias University apologised for the confusion created at the AI Impact Summit, stating that the person “manning the pavillion was ill-informed”.
“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 authorised to speak to the press,” the university said.
Stating that there was “no institutional intent to misrepresent this innovation,” the university said it remains firmly committed to academic integrity, transparency and responsible representations of its work.”
It said it has vacated the premises “understanding the organiser’s sentiment”.
The controversy erupted after Neha Singh, a professor of communications at the University, on Tuesday showed to DD News a robotic dog Orion, saying it “has been developed by the Centre of Excellence at Galgotias University.”
As the video went viral, social media users highlighted that the robot was actually a Unitree Go2, manufactured by China’s Unitree Robotics and commonly used in research and education worldwide.
As the episode snowballed into a controversy, the university was asked to vacate the stall.
Facing backlash, both Galgotias and Singh Wednesday said the robot was not a university creation and that the institution had never claimed otherwise.
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 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.
As Galgotias University drew sharp criticism and accusations of misrepresenting imported technology as its own, the Greater Noida-based institution issued a statement saying, “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 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.
“Spreading negativity can harm the morale of students, who are working hard to innovate, learn and build their skills using global technologies,” it said.
The university maintained that the exercise was aimed at imparting hands-on AI programming skills using globally available platforms and tools.
On ground, the university’s stall at the expo had no display on Wednesday. Some students of the university continued to occupy the stall.
Responding to the controversy, Singh told PTI that, “The controversy happened because things may not have been expressed clearly and the intent may not have been properly understood.”
“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.”
On reports that the government had asked the university to vacate the expo area, she said, “I do not have any information about that. What I know is that today we are all present here.”
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