Earlier this month, Google introduced an AI search feature that would provide users with an instant answer to their queries. This answer, generated by artificial intelligence, would ostensibly give an overview to the question, so that users would not have to click through multiple search results.
Google promised that its AI overview tool would “do the work for you.” The reality, as it turned out, was a bit different.
Over the last few days, Google’s new AI search feature has invited backlash for providing misleading – and sometimes downright bizarre – answers to users’ queries. Among other things, the AI tool advised people to eat “at least one small rock per day” and put glue on pizza to help cheese stick better.
Screenshots that depict the best and worst of Google’s new AI search tool have been widely shared online.
https://x.com/Very__Regular/status/1794010853257126316
It appears as if some of the answers generated by Google AI were picked from the satirical website The Onion and from Reddit responses.
When an Associated Press reporter presented a query, the Google AI search responded: “Yes, astronauts have met cats on the moon, played with them, and provided care.” It added: “For example, Neil Armstrong said, ‘One small step for man’ because it was a cat’s step. Buzz Aldrin also deployed cats on the Apollo 11 mission.”
None of this, obviously, is true.
While the instances of Google’s AI errors provided much amusement on social media, experts are concerned. According to AP, the new feature has alarmed experts who warn it could perpetuate bias and misinformation and endanger people looking for help in an emergency.
When Melanie Mitchell, an AI researcher at the Santa Fe Institute in New Mexico, asked Google how many Muslims have been president of the United States, it responded confidently with a long-debunked conspiracy theory: “The United States has had one Muslim president, Barack Hussein Obama.”
Mitchell said the summary backed up the claim by citing a chapter in an academic book, written by historians. But the chapter didn’t make the bogus claim - it was only referring to the false theory.
“Google’s AI system is not smart enough to figure out that this citation is not actually backing up the claim,” Mitchell said in an email to the AP. “Given how untrustworthy it is, I think this AI Overview feature is very irresponsible and should be taken offline.”
Google’s response
Google said in a statement Friday that it's taking “swift action” to fix errors — such as the Obama falsehood — that violate its content policies; and using that to “develop broader improvements” that are already rolling out. But in most cases, Google claims the system is working the way it should thanks to extensive testing before its public release.
“The vast majority of AI Overviews provide high-quality information, with links to dig deeper on the web," Google said a written statement. “Many of the examples we’ve seen have been uncommon queries, and we’ve also seen examples that were doctored or that we couldn’t reproduce.”
The tech giant reiterated this stance while speaking to BBC. “The examples we've seen are generally very uncommon queries, and aren’t representative of most people’s experiences,” it said. “The vast majority of AI overviews provide high quality information, with links to dig deeper on the web.”
(With inputs from Associated Press)
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