Comms pros on how Galgotias University can recover from the AI summit fiasco

What was meant to be a moment of institutional pride at the India AI Impact Summit in Delhi turned into a reputational flashpoint for Galgotias University and a case study in how quickly credibility can unravel in the age of social media.

At the high-profile summit attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, French President Emmanuel Macron, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Microsoft President Brad Smith, and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, India was positioning itself as a serious player in the global AI race.

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At its pavilion, Galgotias University showcased a robotic dog named "Orion". In a televised interaction with DD News, Neha Singh, a communications professor at the university, said:

“You need to meet Orion. This has been developed by the Centre of Excellence at Galgotias University.”

But within hours, attendees and online users began pointing out that the robot resembled a commercially available model manufactured by Chinese robotics company Unitree retailing for roughly $1,600 online.

The internet response was swift and unforgiving. Side-by-side comparisons circulated widely. “Galgotia[s] University strikes again,” one user posted. Another wrote, “This is the problem with lying: once you start, you keep digging a deeper and deeper hole.”

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Singh later told PTI that she had “misspoken” in the “enthusiasm” of the moment.

“There was controversy perhaps… because I didn’t express myself clearly… How can we claim we manufactured this?”

However, by then, the focus had shifted from miscommunication to institutional credibility.

On February 18, Galgotias University issued a public apology stating that the representative was “ill-informed” and “not authorised to speak to the press.” The statement emphasised there was “no institutional intent to misrepresent this innovation” and confirmed that the university had vacated the summit premises.

But beyond the factual dispute, the episode raises a larger question: when credibility is questioned on a national stage, what should the communication strategy look like?

We asked communications professionals one key question: If you were advising Galgotias University at this stage, what would you recommend?

Here’s what they had to say.

Lead from the top, prepare from the ground

For Pooja Priyamvada, MD and co-founder of Semicolons Consulting, the response needed stronger institutional ownership. “Owning the error without blame-shifting rebuilds trust and makes the entire fiasco look like a genuine human error of judgement,” she says.

According to her, crises of this scale demand proactive engagement, not just a statement. That includes direct outreach to media, alumni and partners, as well as visible corrective measures such as spokesperson training and pre-event vetting protocols. “The tone of all communications at this stage should be apologetic and not boisterous,” she notes.

Neeti Nayak, founder of The Gist, agrees. “At this level, what is presented publicly reflects leadership and systems, not a single representative,” she says.

In her view, the narrative shifts only when accountability moves upward.

“The reset has to be calm, factual and process-driven. When institutions respond with maturity and stronger guardrails, rather than defensiveness, the narrative begins to shift from embarrassment to course correction.”

National platforms invite global scrutiny

For Aditi Khare, head of communications at Symbiosis, the scale of the platform matters.

“Apologising at the right time is a matter of responsibility and prestige, especially when it concerns a national-level engagement,” she says.

Events such as the India AI Impact Summit, designed to position India as a serious AI contender, naturally draw global attention. “Timely acknowledgement strengthens credibility and trust in the long run.”

Khare draws on past experience at Alibaba Group, noting that swift, transparent responses can even strengthen stakeholder relationships:

“During my time as comms manager with Alibaba Group back in 2015, we reacted very swiftly to one such query by the government. As we were working for a Chinese company, not only did we resolve the queries by the government, but we also strengthened our relationship with the Indian government better than other Chinese companies in the region.”

Focus on systems, not individuals

The founder of The Gist stresses that credibility is about leadership and systems, not a single spokesperson.

“What is presented publicly reflects leadership and processes, not an individual. There needs to be visible accountability from the top, a clear acknowledgement of where validation fell short, and concrete steps to strengthen how innovation is vetted," says Nayak.

"AI is a space where hype can outpace substance, so credibility is fragile. Calm, factual, process-driven responses with stronger guardrails help shift the narrative from embarrassment to course correction and rebuild trust.” 

Act fast, be factual, close the story

Tanushree Bhatia, a strategic communications consultant and former communications lead at MICA, emphasises speed and clarity.

“When credibility is questioned, the responsibility ultimately rests with the institution. The first response should be to own it fully, with no defensive statements and no blame-shifting. Immediate factual clarity, acknowledgement of the lapse, and visible corrective action set the tone and prevent the story from drifting. Timely leadership ownership is key.”

Takeaways for institutions

For Galgotias University, the incident is less about a single robot dog and more about process and perception. In an era where innovation is showcased in public, every statement is scrutinised, and the line between enthusiasm and misrepresentation is thin.

As these experts make clear, credibility hinges on leadership, speed, transparency, and accountability. In sectors like AI, already a space where hype can easily outpace substance, the lesson is simple: attention may capture eyeballs, but trust sustains it.