The officials informed the chief minister that the controversy had led to a national debate as some people created fake videos and photos using artificial intelligence and circulated them widely on social media.
Published Apr 06, 2025 | 10:51 AM ⚊ Updated Apr 06, 2025 | 10:51 AM
Students protesting in HCU. (Sumit Jha/South First)
Synopsis: The Telangana government decided to appeal to the court to order an inquiry into the creation of AI fake content which misled the entire society regarding the alleged attempt to seize 400 acres of land in Kancha Gachibowli, adjacent to the University of Hyderabad.
The Telangana government expressed serious concern over the circulation of doctored videos and photos on social media, which purportedly show bulldozers harming wildlife during the government’s alleged attempt to seize 400 acres of land in Kancha Gachibowli, adjacent to the University of Hyderabad.
Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, during a review meeting at the Secretariat on Saturday, 5 April, instructed officials to appeal to the court on behalf of the state government to order an inquiry into the creation of content using artificial intelligence (AI), which misled the entire society.
The chief minister also ordered the police officials to strengthen the cybercrime department to prevent such incidents from taking place once again and suggested that the necessary advanced forensic hardware and software tools be provided to detect AI content immediately.
The officials briefed the chief minister about the projects developed on the lands in survey number 25 in Kanche Gachibowli in the last 25 years. Along with the world-famous Indian School of Business (ISB), Gachibowli Stadium, Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT), private buildings, residential apartments and Hyderabad University buildings were constructed in survey number 25.
They brought to the notice of the chief minister that no disputes or concerns came to light during the construction of the above institutions. There were no such controversies on wildlife conservation and environmental issues at that time of construction. Considering that, the high-level meeting discussed the reasons behind the controversy on the development of 400 acres of government land in the same survey.
The officials informed the chief minister that the controversy had led to a national debate as some people created fake videos and photos using AI and circulated them widely on social media. The authorities told the chief minister that the fabricated videos and photos went viral on social media even before the government disclosed the facts on the lands and it has become a big challenge for them.
Top police officials explained to the chief minister that some vested interests made fake videos and AI photos of peacocks crying and injured deers running away after they were being hit by bulldozers.
Even some important persons in various fields presumed the fake videos and photos circulating on social media as real, which added fuel to the fire, they said.
The meeting also discussed Union Minister G Kishan Reddy, former Minister G Jagadish Reddy, social media influencer Dhruv Rathi, and film celebrities John Abraham, Dia Mirza, and Raveena Thandan were carried way by the fake posts (videos and photos) on social media. Some other prominent persons also spread the same fake video without realising that it was not genuine.
The high level meeting felt that the controversy created by using the AI video on Kancha Gachibowli lands posed a big challenge to the democratic system. The chief minister and officials discussed the threat of a big risk in the future if fake content is created with AI on sensitive issues, mainly the disputes on the Indo-Pak and Indo-China borders.
The meeting expressed serious concern that fake videos and photos created by AI will be a greater risk than the Covid pandemic for the society.
Those present at the review meeting included Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka, Ministers Danasari Anasuya alias Seethakka, Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy, Chief Secretary A Santhi Kumari, DGP Jitender, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) RM Dobriyal, Telangana State Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (TGIIC) MD Vishnuvardhan Reddy.
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil.)
