Artificial intelligence scandal in the library! Writers revolted in the country, politics came into conflict

A court investigation was launched into allegations that public libraries in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu purchased hundreds of books produced with artificial intelligence. Described as "India's first artificial intelligence scam" by the State Education Minister, the incident brought about a huge debate about the use of artificial intelligence in the publishing world.

The scandal emerged when internationally known Tamil writer Perumal Murugan visited the Periyar Arivulagam Library in Coimbatore, which was built at a cost of approximately $34 million and opened in October. Murugan noticed that approximately 1,800 books in the Tamil section of the library were supplied by an obscure publishing house called Agal Vilakku Pathippagam and contained serious inconsistencies.

Information inconsistencies and unauthorized use of names

There are many scandalous details that attract attention in the books that Murugan brought to the agenda with his article. While it was noticed that the information was inconsistent in a 300-page book sold for an exorbitant price of 1,445 rupees, it was reported that in another book the information was directly written incorrectly. Additionally, when the publishing houses where some books were allegedly published were contacted, it was revealed that they were not even aware of these books.

Bank accounts were frozen

The Madras High Court has ordered the state's anti-corruption unit to investigate the purchases and freeze bank accounts belonging to Agal Vilakku Pathippagam publishing house.

Tamil Nadu Education Minister A. Rajmohan announced that the investigation has been expanded to all public libraries across the state. Following initial inspections, 523 books from the historic Connemara Public Library and all suspicious works from the Periyar Arivulagam Library at the center of the scandal were removed from the shelves.

Writers are standing, politics is confused

More than 160 people, including writers, academics and publishers, published a joint statement and demanded an independent investigation. The declaration questioned how these books could pass expert committees and price negotiations, and asked for compensation for public damage.

The incident also turned into a political crisis in the state. While the current government holds the previous DMK party administration responsible for the purchase of controversial books; The DMK front rejected the accusations as "politically motivated" and demanded a transparent investigation into the procurement processes. Whether artificial intelligence was used in the production of the books will become clear as a result of the investigation.