E-Paper
Shah lauds Goa’s new policing tool to analyse ‘radical content’
Union home minister Amit Shah was impressed with the tool and asked Intelligence Bureau chief to explore its possible use elsewhere as well
New Delhi: Union home minister Amit Shah took note of an Artificial Intelligence-powered tool developed by Goa police to analyse “radical content” on the social media and directed officials to examine if it could be implemented by other states, people aware of the matter said.
During a meeting in Delhi to review the status of implementation of the three new criminal laws in Goa on Monday, the state police gave a presentation on various policing apps and tools, including the “Radical Content Analyzer”.
Sharing details of the AI tool, a senior officer, who asked not to be named, said, “This is a tool to counter online radicalisation and extremist propaganda, and has been developed in association with BITS Pilani, Goa. This AI-powered tool scans social media platforms for religious preaching content in Hindi and English. It can analyse both online and offline content up to 25-minute-long videos.”
He added: “It performs lexical analysis for radical narratives by identifying keywords like Jihad, apostate, infidels, etc, and analyses religious rhetoric speech patterns and intensity. The tool also detects strong negative emotions like anger and fear, which may indicate the state of radicalisation.”
An official of the Goa government said that the tool has been tested on over 150 radical and non-radical videos so far and will be ready for offline use by mid-April. “The home minister was impressed with it and asked Intelligence Bureau chief Tapan Deka to explore its possible use elsewhere as well,” he said.
Another initiative – “Quick Pass” mobile application – launched by Goa police also caught the attention of Shah. This initiative aims to boost traffic compliance and reduce inconvenience to road users.
“When a tourist is stopped at a police checkpost, traffic officials generate a QR code after document verification. This QR code is valid for 24 hours, which means it will allow the person to move through the next checkposts,” the first officer cited above said.
The meeting chaired by Shah was attended by Goa chief minister Pramod Sawant, Union home secretary Govind Mohan, director general of police Alok Kumar, IB chief Tapan Deka and officials from the bureau of police research and development, national crime records bureau, and ministry of home affairs.
