Google restricts AI images amid outcry over chatbot’s treatment of race

2 mins

AI FOR Images

18 March 2024, 02:00PM

In BriefGoogle temporarily suspends image generation in its Gemini chatbot due to racial and ethnic biases.
Users on social network X highlighted historically inaccurate or biased responses from the chatbot.
Prabhakar Raghavan, Google's Senior VP, acknowledges issues, citing tuning failures and excessive caution in the model.
Despite initially supporting Gemini's diverse image generation, Google recognizes shortcomings and commits to improvement.
The pause underscores the challenges of moderating AI programs; Google continues to navigate complexities in the evolving AI landscape, releasing new products and addressing concerns about political bias.

Google Restricts AI Images Amid Outcry Over Chatbot’s Treatment of RaceFollowing an online outcry surrounding racial and ethnic biases in its chatbot, Google has temporarily suspended the generation of images of people within its Gemini chatbot. The decision comes as users flooded the social network X with examples of Gemini responses deemed historically inaccurate or biased. Google acknowledged the issues, with Prabhakar Raghavan, Senior VP of Knowledge and Information Products, stating that the model's tuning failed to account for certain cases and became overly cautious over time.
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Second, over time, the model became way more cautious than we intended and refused to answer certain prompts entirely—wrongly interpreting some very anodyne prompts as sensitive.
Prabhakar Raghavan
Despite initially supporting Gemini's racially diverse image generation, Google recognized its shortcomings and opted to improve historical depictions. Notably, the pause in image generation underscores the challenges of moderating AI programs, viewed as a major technological development.
Gemini faced criticism for refusing requests to generate images of white people, citing concerns about race definitions and stereotypes. Google's recent release of new AI products, including a paid version of Gemini, emphasizes the company's commitment to advancing image-generation capabilities. As other chatbot makers, like OpenAI, grapple with moderation challenges and concerns about political bias, Google aims to navigate these complexities in the evolving AI landscape. Last year, Google announced restrictions on certain election-related queries in its chatbot and AI-powered search engine.