Indian university’s Chinese robot dog claim at AI Impact Summit slammed as ‘shameless’

An Indian professor has falsely suggested a Chinese-made robot dog displayed at a major AI summit was developed by her university, prompting backlash in a situation politicians derided as “embarrassing” on Wednesday.

The silver mechanical dog, a model sold by Chinese start-up Unitree, appeared at a booth run by the private Galgotias University at this week’s AI Impact Summit in New Delhi.

Following online uproar over the professor’s claim in a televised interview, Galgotias said that while it did not build the machine, “what we are building are minds that will soon design, engineer, and manufacture such technologies”.

“You need to meet Orion,” the professor told an Indian TV reporter as the dog performed tricks such as waving at the camera and springing up on its hind legs.

“This has been developed by the centres of excellence at Galgotias University,” she said, touting the institution’s investments in artificial intelligence technology.

“As you can see, it can take all shapes and sizes … it’s quite naughty also,” she said.

In a statement posted on social media, the university said: “Let us be clear – Galgotias has not built this robodog, neither have we claimed.”