Neha Singh, Galgotias professor at centre of robot dog controversy, ‘open to work’: Reports

Under fire for falsely claiming a Chinese-made robot dog as an in-house innovation at the ongoing India AI Impact Summit, Galgotias University professor Neha Singh is reportedly looking for a new job.

According to media reports, Professor Singh’s LinkedIn profile briefly carried the green ‘open to work’ logo, which lets recruiters know the user is looking for a new job.

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However, the ‘open to work’ logo disappeared shortly after a screengrab of her LinkedIn profile went viral on social media.

Singh, who works as the Head of Department, Communication at Galgotias, represented the Noida-based varsity at the India AI Impact Summit currently underway at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi.

Power disconnected at Galgotias University stall after China-made robodog row; staff vacate AI Summit expo

The university displayed a robotic dog named “Orion” at its pavilion at the India AI Impact Summit. Interacting with a DD News reporter, Singh had claimed that it was an in-house development.

However, social media users and sections of Chinese media identified the robot as the commercially available Unitree Go2 manufactured by Unitree Robotics. The robot was available online for around Rs 2.5 lakh.

The issue quickly snowballed into a major controversy, leading to Galgotias University’s abrupt ouster from the summit.

The university later apologised over the “confusion” and blamed “ill-informed” Singh for giving incorrect information in her “enthusiasm of being on camera”.

What Neha Singh said in her defence?

The professor, however, clarified that the controversy happened because she was not able to express her intent clearly.

“The controversy happened because things may not have been expressed clearly and the intent may not have been properly understood,” Singh told reporters on Wednesday.

She further added, “Your six can be my nine. Maybe what I wanted to say I was not able to say because of the scarcity of time or the noise around us.”