Media has more responsible role to play in age of AI: Vice President C P Radhakrishnan

Hyderabad: Vice President C P Radhakrishnan on Sunday said the media has a more responsible role to educate people in the present times as it is becoming difficult to differentiate between real and fake news following the advancement of AI and other technologies.

Speaking at the presentation of the inaugural Ramoji Excellence Awards instituted by the Ramoji Group in memory of its founder-chairman Ramoji Rao, he said misinformation is a drawback of the present age of social media.

"Today, with the advance in science, especially in the field of Artificial Intelligence, it is becoming difficult to find the difference between the real and fake news. The media has a more responsible role now. We need to protect the innocent viewers and educate them about the truth," he said.

As the country moves forward towards the vision of 'Viksit Bharat 2047' laid down by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, it is essential that media organisations also become partners in nation building highlighting the stories of innovation, startups, women empowerment and others.

The media also has a major role to play in making the country drugs-free, he said.

"Dangerous habit (drugs) which is spreading from Kashmir to Kanyakumari. We all have to fight against it. We have to make an awareness of no to drugs. That is the movement I am thinking of starting it. I am thinking that it should be a people's movement," Radhakrishnan said.

Referring to Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy's comments that he (Radhakrishnan) should help Telangana and Andhra Pradesh the way former Vice President Venkaiah Naidu did, Radhakrishnan expressed confidence that the disputes between the two sides would be resolved.

He described Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu and Revanth Reddy as "Guru and 'Shishya", an apparent reference to the fact that the Telangana CM was a TDP leader before joining the Congress.

The late Ramoji Rao, founder-chairman of Ramoji Group, including the 'Eenadu' newspaper, was not just a pioneer in media and communication but a nation builder, the Vice President said.

Former Vice President Venkaiah Naidu said Ramoji Rao was an inspiration to the young generation.

While former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee and former Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani were responsible for his growth in politics, Ramoji Rao's advice helped him gain people's recognition in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, he said.

Describing Ramoji Rao as a personification of excellence, Chandrababu Naidu said the late media baron never sought any favours from anyone.

The Ramoji Excellence Awards would become reputed like the Ramon Magsaysay, Dada Saheb Phalke and Pulitzer awards, he said.

Revanth Reddy said the Ramoji Film City of the Ramoji Group is a "fourth wonder" in Hyderabad, the other being historical monuments of Charminar and Golconda and the Hitech City (a centre of IT).

Former Chief Justice of India N V Ramana regretted that Ramoji Rao, a guiding light, is no more now when social media is "swallowing" mainstream media.

"In the old days, there used to be rowdies behind some political leaders. Now, social media has entered the place of rowdies. Lot of damage is caused to society due to the false campaign spread under the garb of social media. It appears that political leaders and governments have not realised this properly," he said.

The awards were presented to Jaideep Hardikar (journalism), Srikanth Bolla (Youth Icon), Sathupati Prasanna Sree (art and culture), Amla Ashok Ruia (rural development), Akash Tandon (sevice to mankind), Pallabi Ghosh (women achiever) and Madhavi Latha Gali (science and technology).

Telangana Governor Jishnu Dev Varma, Union Ministers G Kishan Reddy, K Ram Mohan Naidu, Bandi Sanjay Kumar, Ramoji Group Managing Director Ch Kiron and several other leaders and dignitaries attended the event.