AI-generated books? Indian court orders probe into Tamil Nadu library purchases

International

LIBRARIES are expected to preserve knowledge, not cast doubt on it.

Yet a controversy over questionable authorship and factual inaccuracies in books stocked at public libraries in India’s Tamil Nadu state has prompted a court-ordered investigation into suspected AI-generated publications and the use of public funds.

The Madras High Court has directed the state’s anti-corruption agency to investigate the purchases and freeze bank accounts linked to a publisher accused of supplying the books.

The controversy erupted after acclaimed Tamil novelist Perumal Murugan questioned nearly 1,800 books in the Tamil section of the newly opened Periyar Arivulagam library in Coimbatore. In an online magazine, he alleged that the titles, supplied by a little-known publisher, Agal Vilakku Pathippagam, carried unfamiliar authors’ names, questionable International Standard Book Numbers (ISBNs) and unusually high prices.

One book, Naladiyar Vaazhvin Vazhikatti (A Guide to Life through Naladiyar), was reportedly priced at 1,445 rupees for 300 pages. It describes Naladiyar as a Tamil poet and philosopher, although the name refers to a classical work comprising 400 four-line verses on morality and ethics.

Another publication reportedly attributes the ancient Tamil poem Madurai Kanchi to the wrong author.

The library, named after social reformer Periyar EV Ramasamy, was built at a cost of about 3bn rupees ($34m; £26m) and inaugurated on 16 October by Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay. It remains unclear whether artificial intelligence was used to produce any of the disputed books.

Questions have also emerged over a book found at a public library in Madurai that lists economist Jean Drèze as its author. Published by Phoenix Publishing House, Democracy and People’s Rights in the Contemporary World was disowned by Drèze, who told The Hindu he had not written it. BBC Tamil found no identifying signs at Chennai addresses listed for either publisher.

Agal Vilakku proprietor Mohan declined to comment, saying the matter was before the courts.

School Education Minister A Rajmohan called the allegations potentially “India’s first AI scam” and said the investigation would cover purchases at other public libraries. He also said 523 books had been removed from Chennai’s Connemara Public Library following preliminary checks, while disputed titles had been withdrawn from Periyar Arivulagam.

More than 160 writers, researchers, artists and publishers have called for an independent inquiry, the disclosure of procurement records and an audit of library collections across the state. They also want public money recovered if misuse is established.

The case has triggered a political dispute, with Rajmohan blaming the previous Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) administration for the purchases. The DMK has rejected the allegations as politically motivated and called for an investigation.

The controversy has also raised broader questions about how libraries verify authorship and accuracy as AI tools make it easier to produce books quickly and cheaply. Whether the disputed publications were AI-generated remains unestablished.(MyTVCebu)