Thiruvananthapuram

Keralam Chief Minister V D Satheesan on Wednesday said his government would use Artificial Intelligence tools in governance as part of efforts to build a data-driven administration, while rejecting allegations that AI was used to prepare the White Paper on the state's finances.

"This government will use Artificial Intelligence tools. We are moving towards a data-driven government. As part of that approach, we will make use of AI tools. We have already begun studying how to do this, and we have assigned the necessary personnel to work on it," Satheesan told reporters.

"What is wrong with a government doing that?" he asked after chairing the state cabinet meeting here.

The chief minister's remarks came in response to senior CPI(M) leader T M Thomas Isaac's allegation that the White Paper tabled by the UDF government in the Kerala Assembly had been prepared using AI, raising concerns over the handling of confidential government documents.

While defending the use of AI in governance, Satheesan denied that the technology was used in preparing the White Paper.

"Some people keep saying that AI was used. Even if AI had been used, what would be wrong with that? We will use AI for such purposes. In this particular case, however, it was not used," he said.

Chief Minister Satheesan had tabled the White Paper in the Assembly on June 4. The document was prepared by a three-member committee headed by former Cabinet Secretary K M Chandrasekhar.

Dismissing suggestions that the 122-page document could not have been prepared within a short period, Satheesan said, "People are asking how we managed to produce a 122-page document in such a short time. Does the government not have the capacity to prepare 122 pages within ten days? Of course it does. We did it."

Referring to criticism over the disclosure of Treasury balances in the White Paper, he said there was no secrecy involved.

"But the first person to publicly state that there was Rs 6,000 crore in the Treasury was the former Finance Minister, K N Balagopal. So where is the secrecy?" he said.

"There is really no secret here. There is no secret at all," the chief minister added.

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Isaac had claimed at a press conference on June 5 that sensitive records of the Finance Department may have been analysed using AI platforms during the preparation of the White Paper, raising concerns about the possible exposure of confidential government data.