Associated Incidents
Kolkata: An AI-generated video showing three tigers on a madrasa campus at Barasat went viral on Wednesday, causing panic among students and guardians and leading to a sharp drop in attendance on Wednesday and Thursday.
The video was later found to have been created by a teacher of the madrasa. The madrasa issued a show-cause notice on Thursday, after which the teacher claimed it was part of an awareness campaign to educate students about dangers of blindly trusting AI-generated content online.
According to sources, a viral video on social media claimed that not one, but three tigers were prowling on the campus of Ula Kalsara Qadria High Madrasa in Barasat's Kadambagachhi.
"We were extremely shocked after watching the video showing tigers roaming the campus. It had already gone viral on Facebook, and we decided to stop sending our kids to school," said a guardian.
Upon hearing the news, concerned parents started calling the headmaster, demanding clarity and safety assurances.
Headmaster Monirul Mallik confirmed that the video was digitally created by assistant teacher Mohammad Yamin Mallik, the geography teacher.
"The video was created using AI by our geography teacher. We are still not clear about his intentions. After receiving calls from parents, we spoke to the teacher and had the video deleted immediately. The madrasa managing committee will take appropriate steps to ensure such incidents do not happen again," the headmaster said.
Mohammad Yamin Mallik said: "I created the video using AI technology to make students aware that not everything they see on social media is real. It was meant to align learning with modern technological trends, beyond textbooks. But I sincerely apologise for the panic it has caused. I want to clarify that there are no tigers or any wild animals on campus. I have already deleted the video," he said.
"The incident has highlighted the double-edged nature of AI tools in educational spaces–while they can be innovative, they must be used responsibly," said Joydeep Lahiri, an AI expert.