Google disabled the picture production feature of its Gemini artificial intelligence platform on Thursday after the algorithm produced erroneous responses to instructions.
On Wednesday, The Verge released many screenshots showing the application producing historically incorrect photographs. Among the images were people of color dressed as Nazis when the user was asked to “generate an image of a 1943 German Soldier.”
A user going by the handle @stratejake on X (previously Twitter) claimed to be a Google employee and shared an example of an incorrect image along with the comment, “I’ve never been so embarrassed to work for a company.” His employment has not been verified and confirmed by Global Biz Outlook.
Google noted in a post on X that the application was “missing the mark” in how it handled historical prompts.
When reached by Google for more information, the company pointed to a blog post published on Friday.
Google replies
Google’s senior vice president of knowledge and information, Prabhakar Raghavan, stated in the blog post that the program was created to steer clear of “traps” and to display a variety of representations in response to general cues. The tool was released earlier this month.
The design, according to Raghavan, did not take into consideration “cases that should clearly not show a range.”
“You should absolutely get a response that accurately reflects what you ask for if you prompt Gemini for images of people in particular cultural or historical contexts, such as “a Black teacher in a classroom” or “a White veterinarian with a dog”,” wrote Raghavan.
AI is under fire
The stoppage is the most recent instance of artificial intelligence technology sparking debate.
Following the recent circulation of sexually explicit AI photos of Taylor Swift on X and other platforms, Karine Jean-Pierre, the press secretary for the White House, proposed laws to control the technology. Since then, X has removed the photographs since they broke the conditions of the website.
A deepfake artificial intelligence (AI) message imitating Texas-based Life Corporation’s voice instructed certain New Hampshire voters not to cast their ballots.
