Mountain View, CA – In a swift response to growing criticism, Google has announced plans to amend its AI-powered picture creation tool, Gemini, amid accusations of enforcing an overly politically correct narrative.
Users have pointed out the tool’s tendency to depict historical figures in a manner that prioritizes diversity over historical accuracy, a move that has ignited discussions on the balance between representation and factual correctness in AI technologies.
Gemini, praised for its capability to produce diverse images, faced backlash when it generated pictures of America’s founding fathers as women and people of color, a depiction far removed from historical records.
Jack Krawczyk, Senior Director for Gemini Experiences at Google, stated,
“While we intend to reflect the diverse global community using our product, we recognize the need for historical fidelity in certain contexts.”
This controversy is not Google’s first encounter with AI and diversity issues. Nearly a decade ago, the company had to apologize when its photo app mistakenly labeled a picture of a black couple as “gorillas,” highlighting the ongoing challenges of bias in AI.
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Similarly, OpenAI faced criticism for perpetuating stereotypes with its Dall-E image generator, which predominantly depicted chief executives as white men.
Mike Wacker, the software engineer who has previously worked at Microsoft and Google tweeted his experience with Google’s AI Image Generation Tool
“Can you generate images of the Founding Fathers?” It’s a difficult question for Gemini, Google’s DEI-powered AI tool.
Ironically, asking for more historically accurate images made the results even more historically inaccurate. pic.twitter.com/LtbuIWsHSU
— Mike Wacker (@m_wacker) February 21, 2024
In response to Mick Wacker’s tweet expressing his negative experience with Google’s image generation tool, the public also shared their own frustrations and unsatisfactory experiences with the technology, highlighting the broader discontent among users.
— John Rigolizzo (@JohnRigolizzo) February 21, 2024
The current discourse around Gemini has fueled discussions in right-wing circles in the US, where allegations of a liberal bias Google’s AI Image Generation Toolithin tech giants are frequent.
Critics argue that Google’s attempt to avoid perpetuating stereotypes has led to an overcorrection that undermines the authenticity of historical representations.
It was not just one user who faced this problem, a lot of people are criticizing this Google image generation tool.
Gemini is just so messed up. pic.twitter.com/iu2mHPQJo6
— Wall Street Silver (@WallStreetSilv) February 22, 2024
Despite the controversy, Krawczyk emphasized Google’s commitment to inclusivity and accurate representation, stating,
“We are actively working to improve our algorithms to recognize better and respect the nuance of historical contexts.”
He encouraged users to continue providing feedback, underscoring the iterative process of aligning AI technologies with user expectations and ethical standards.
A lot of funny memes are circulating over the internet. here’s is one example
When you ask Google Gemini to generate a white guy pic.twitter.com/l34lDmw6m7
— Mostly Peaceful Memes (@MostlyPeacefull) February 22, 2024
The situation with Gemini underscores the complex intersection of AI, ethics, and representation, prompting a reevaluation of how AI tools balance the drive for diversity with the need for historical and factual accuracy.
One user had an experience with Google Gemini image generation where the tool openly admitted that it is racist:
It looks like you trained Gemini on data tainted by the racist ideologies of CRT & DEI. It refused to create a picture of a “white family” but readily created a “black family.” I was impressed when it admitted it was racist, but it couldn’t stop itself. https://t.co/pfxNQ9MTnJ pic.twitter.com/Q42HZqmA6c
— Zubi Bubalus (Reality Matters) (@Zubi_Freeman) February 21, 2024
As Google works to address these criticisms, the episode serves as a reminder of the evolving challenges facing AI developers in creating technologies that reflect and respect the diverse world they serve.
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