Govt Concerned Over "AI-Created" HCU Controversy

The Telangana government today expressed serious concern over the alleged use of AI to create and spread misinformation on social media, particularly in connection with the takeover of the Kancha Gachibowli lands.

Chief Minister Revanth Reddy held a high-level review meeting at the Secretariat to discuss ongoing court cases related to the lands. The meeting was attended by Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, ministers Seethakka and Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy, Chief Secretary Santhi Kumari, DGP Jitender, PCCF R M Dobriyal, TGIIC MD Vishnuvardhan Reddy and other senior officials.

The officials briefed the Chief Minister that over the past 25 years multiple institutions and infrastructure projects had been developed on Survey No 25 in Kancha Gachibowli - including ISB, the Gachibowli stadium, IIIT, private residential complexes, and buildings linked to the University of Hyderabad - without any controversy at the time. Environmental and wildlife concerns were reportedly not raised during the construction of these projects.

However, the recent uproar over the development of 400 acres of government land in the same survey number had ignited nationwide debate fuelled by AI-generated misinformation, they claimed.

Doctored images and videos - appearing authentic but fabricated using AI - were widely circulated on social media, the officials claimed. These included visuals of peacocks crying in unison, deer fleeing from bulldozers, and audio recordings falsely portraying distress, which had the potential to charge people emotionally.

They said that the rapid spread of such fabricated content had misled the public and many prominent personalities.

They also briefed the CM that Union minister Kishan Reddy, former minister Jagadish Reddy, influencer Dhruv Rathee, and film celebrities including John Abraham, Dia Mirza and Raveena Tandon had unintentionally amplified the false narratives by sharing some of the AI-generated content.

Journalist Sumit Jha, who had originally posted one such video, had later deleted the post and issued an apology, the officials said. However, others continued to share the misleading content, unaware of its inauthentic nature.

The officials also said that the misuse of AI in this case represented a significant threat to democratic systems and social harmony. Describing the situation as a crisis more serious than the coronavirus pandemic, they called for urgent action.

In response, the CM directed the officials to petition the courts for an investigation into the creation and spread of the alleged misleading AI-generated content. He also instructed the strengthening of the State's cybercrime division and recommended equipping it with advanced forensic hardware and software to detect and counter AI-driven misinformation.