Chinese robodog, theft, chaos: 6 things that went wrong at AI Impact Summit

The India AI Impact Summit, one of the country's largest global gatherings on artificial intelligence, has brought together policymakers, industry leaders and technology experts, and deliberations are on around AI innovation, governance and real-world applications in New Delhi.

Global tech leaders like Google’s CEO Sundar Pichai, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, DeepMind Technologies CEO Demis Hassabis, Angthropic CEO Dario Amodei, and Microsoft president Brad Smith are expected to attend the Summit.

'Chaotic' start

However, the event started with chaos and mismanagement of crowd, exhibitors evacuated before PM Modi’s visit, and confusion over Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates’ attendance.

Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge termed the situation as ‘utter chaos’ and alleged a lack of basic facilities to the exhibitors and visitors. He said there were shortage of food and water, restrictions on personal electronic devices, failure of DigiYatra and acceptance of cash payments instead of digital payments.

Here are the major glitches that rocked the much-anticipated tech event.

1. Crowd mismanagement

The organisers and exhibitors faced inconvenience during the opening day of the AI Impact Summit with long queues, heavy crowds, and logistical challenges.

Many visitors complained that several gates were closed with no guidance from the security personnel. They were not able to enter the venue due to lack of communication and coordination, leaving them stranded during the opening hours of the Summit.

2. Evacuation of exhibitors

Ahead of the Prime Minister’s visit to Bharat Mandapam, many exhibitors were asked to evacuate the place without any guidance on where to move.

Also read: Only PR or tangible benefit? Decoding the importance of AI Impact Summit

There were no signboards for the indication of refreshments or water, according to many

3. Wearables stolen

A Bengaluru-based startup NeoSapien’s CEO Dhanajay Yadav alleged that their wearables were stolen from their booth. In an X post, Yadav noted that the security personnel had asked them to leave their patented AI wearables at the booth and leave the place ahead of Modi’s visit.

“Gates were closed from 12–6pm. Much much longer than expected. Later we found out that our wearables were stolen,” he mentioned in his post.

The devices were later recovered by Delhi Police within 24 hours.

4. Digital payment failure

Despite being a tech event, many complained of poor internet connectivity both on mobile and Wi-Fi at the venue. This caused failure of digital payments and many stalls shifted to cash-only payment, leaving visitors without access to food and water.

5. Confusion over Bill Gates’ attendance

Confusion prevailed over Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates' attendance at the event after the summit website, on Tuesday (February 17), did not show his name among the key speakers.

Several reports cited "government sources" to claim that he would not attend it over his name appearing in the Epstein Files, while the Bill Gates Foundation spokesperson told news agency PTI that he certainly would.

While it is not clear why Bill Gates name is missing from the website, many suspect technical glitch. The attendees also complained that the registration system reportedly crashed multiple times and flagged issues with official website.

6. Galgotias University and Chinese robodog row

Greater Noida-based Galgotias University has been reportedly asked to leave the India AI Impact Summit expo area after facing major online backlash for showcasing a robotic dog named “Orion” at the event.

During the summit, university representatives and a professor were filmed claiming the robot was an in-house innovation. However, netizens quickly identified “Orion” as a commercially available Unitree Go2 robodog manufactured by the Chinese company Unitree Robotics.

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In a clarification issued on Wednesday (February 18), Galgotias University denied ever claiming they built the robot, despite viral video evidence suggesting otherwise.

They maintained that the robot was acquired as a learning and demonstration tool to inspire students and help them learn AI programming using global technology.

The university argued that sourcing advanced tools globally is necessary to empower Indian innovators to eventually build their own world-class solutions.

Backlash

Following complaints, Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw issued a public apology on Tuesday (February 17) and assured that all issues would be addressed for the smooth running of the four-day event.

Also read: India stands at forefront of AI transformation: PM Modi

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi dubbed the AI Summit a "disorganised PR spectacle" and alleged that Chinese products were being showcased there.

"Instead of leveraging India's talent and data, the AI summit is a disorganised PR spectacle - Indian data up for sale, Chinese products showcased," Rahul said in a post on X.

Rahul also tagged a post of the Congress which alleged, "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, he charged.

"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. Brazenly shameless," the Congress said on X.