Strengthen Cyber Crime dept to tackle fake AI content, CM Reddy tells officials on Hyd land videos

Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy on Saturday directed officials to strengthen the Cyber Crime department to tackle misleading content, particularly concerning the 400 acre land parcel adjacent to University of Hyderabad (UoH) here.

He also directed the officials to approach courts for a probe into the creation of “misleading” AI content related to the alleged encroachment of University of Hyderabad lands.

A press release from the CMO said, Revanth Reddy held a review meeting at the Secretariat regarding the court cases related to the Kanche-Gachibowli lands in which police officials explained that fake audio clips were created with sounds of peacocks crying, and fabricated photos and videos showed deer being injured and running from bulldozers at the site.

The meeting concluded that the AI-generated content on Kanche-Gachibowli lands posed a serious challenge to democratic systems.

The Telangana government's plan to develop the 400 acres of land in Kancha Gachibowli to create IT infrastructure has sparked protests by UoH Students' Union. The matter is now being heard in the Telangana High Court and Supreme Court.

The agitating students claim that the 400 acres stretch belongs to the varsity while the state government asserts that the land is under its possession and allocated nearly equivalent space to the UoH near it in lieu of the Kancha Gachibowli land long ago

The meeting also noted that several projects including ISB, Gachibowli Stadium, IIIT, private buildings, residential apartments, and buildings of Hyderabad University have been developed on lands in Survey No. 25 of Kanche-Gachibowli without any disputes or concerns.

“The Chief Minister directed officials to request the court for an investigation into the creation of misleading AI content. He also instructed the strengthening of the Cyber Crime Department in the state to prevent such incidents from recurring.

Furthermore, he suggested procuring advanced forensic hardware and software tools to detect and analyse AI-generated fake content,” the release said.

Prominent individuals from various fields, believing the “manipulated” materials to be genuine, shared posts and videos on social media, thereby adding fuel to the fire, it said.

The discussions in the meeting revealed that even Union Minister Kishan Reddy, BRS leader Jagadish Reddy, social media influencer Dhruv Rathee, and film celebrities such as John Abraham, Dia Mirza, and Raveena Tandon shared these AI-generated fake visuals, spreading misinformation to the public.

The meeting also discussed potential risks of AI-generated fake content in sensitive areas like the Indo-Pak and Indo-China borders, warning that it could lead to conflicts in future.

It expressed concern that fake videos and photos generated using artificial intelligence could become a greater threat than the coronavirus pandemic, the release added.