Google Halts Gemini AI Tool Following Controversy Surrounding ‘Diversity’ Images
Google recently made the decision to temporarily suspend the image generation feature of its Gemini artificial intelligence (AI) tool after facing backlash over some controversial inaccuracies generated by the model. The tech giant acknowledged that Gemini was offering inaccuracies in some historical image generation depictions, leading them to pause the image generation of people while they work on addressing these issues.
Many users had complained about the results produced by the Gemini AI tool when asked to generate images of historical figures. Some of the problematic results included “diversity” versions of America’s Founding Fathers, black and female popes, black Vikings, and black and Asian Nazi German soldiers, among others. The model seemed to replace white people with pictures of black and Asian individuals, which caused significant controversy.
In addition to the issue of generating images of diverse historical figures, the Gemini tool also refused to produce photos that the Chinese regime deemed sensitive. This included images of the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989 and the Hong Kong pro-democracy protests in 2019. These limitations raised concerns about censorship and the control that Google’s AI tool had over the content it generated.
This is not the first time Google has faced controversy regarding handling picture issues. In 2015, Google Photos classified a picture of two black people as gorillas, prompting the company to disable its Photo app’s capability to categorize anything as an image of a gorilla, ape, or monkey.
Google has been facing competition from Microsoft-backed OpenAI’s ChatGPT since its introduction to the public in November 2022. In an effort to compete, Google released its generative AI chatbot, Bard, a year ago. However, Bard was rebranded as Gemini recently, and Google introduced paid subscription plans for better reasoning capabilities from the AI model.
Tech billionaire Elon Musk weighed in on Google’s decision to pause its AI tool, criticizing the company for what he called “insane racist, anti-civilizational programming.” Musk has been vocal about his concerns regarding extreme progressive policies being incorporated into the platforms of various tech giants, including Facebook, OpenAI, Google, and Wikipedia, which he refers to as a “woke mind virus.”
Musk also highlighted the importance of his own AI tool, Grok, which aims to embrace different opinions and welcomes criticism. He mentioned that Grok is still a work in progress but will improve rapidly, with version 1.5 set to release in two weeks. Musk stressed the need for a rigorous pursuit of the truth, regardless of criticism, emphasizing the significance of open dialogue and diverse perspectives.
Google’s decision to halt the Gemini AI tool’s image generation feature reflects their recognition of the inaccuracies and controversies surrounding its results. As they work on improving the model and addressing these issues, it remains to be seen how Google will navigate the complexities of AI-generated content and ensure a balance between accuracy, inclusivity, and freedom of expression.
