Indian court investigates library's purchase of AI-generated books
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The Madras High Court in India has ordered an anti-corruption agency to investigate allegations that a newly opened library in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, purchased hundreds of suspected AI-generated books, and has frozen the bank accounts of the publisher involved. Novelist Perumal Murugan said that nearly 1,800 books in the library's Tamil section were all supplied by an obscure publisher, with problems including unfamiliar authors, abnormal pricing and suspicious ISBNs; one of the books also mistakenly refers to the classical Tamil poetry anthology Naladiyar as a poet. The court's investigation targets the procurement process and the publisher involved, and the account freeze has already been carried out in advance.
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- Hacker News AINew Indian mega library rocked by scandal over 'AI-generated books'
The Madras High Court has ordered an anti-corruption investigation into allegations that a newly opened public library in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, bought hundreds of books suspected of being AI-generated, and has frozen bank accounts linked to a publisher accused of supplying them. Novelist Perumal Murugan raised concerns about false information and questionable authorship in nearly 1,800 books in the Periyar Arivulagam library's Tamil section, and more than 160 writers, researchers, artists and publishers have signed a joint statement calling for an independent inquiry. The state government has ordered an internal audit and removed 523 books from Chennai's Connemara Public Library, while the DMK denies blame and calls the allegations politically motivated.
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