Google has paused its Gemini AI from generating ‘people’ images following an uproar over its skewed racial representations.
The tech firm took action after users highlighted the AI’s tendency to depict primarily people of color, even in historically inaccurate contexts. This move aims to refine Gemini’s capabilities to ensure more accurate and diverse depictions.
Also read: It’s a joke! Users Ridicule Google’s Gemini for Missing It
The genesis of the backlash
The core of the controversy lies in AI’s failure to reflect racial diversity accurately in its image outputs. Social media became a battleground, with users sharing Gemini-generated images that strayed from historical and cultural accuracy. Notable examples include depictions of non-white Swedish women and people of color in Nazi uniforms.
It's embarrassingly hard to get Google Gemini to acknowledge that white people exist pic.twitter.com/4lkhD7p5nR
— Deedy (@debarghya_das) February 20, 2024
Such inaccuracies have not only sparked debates on social media but have also led to severe introspection within Google, with employees expressing embarrassment over the AI’s shortcomings. Critics argue that these inaccuracies are not mere technical glitches but reflect a more profound bias in AI programming.
“I’ve never been so embarrassed to work for a company,” said St. Ratej, a research engineer at Google ARVR, in an X post.
The backlash, however, did not just stop at Google, as some users also noticed the same biases in other AI platforms like OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Consequently, questions arose about the consistency of scrutiny across AI technologies, highlighting the broader industry-wide challenge of ensuring unbiased AI representations.
Er guys… it looks like chatGPT has the same woke moralising issue.
Why are they getting a free pass? pic.twitter.com/a1ZBz69iZw
— Liv Boeree (@Liv_Boeree) February 21, 2024
The ripple effect
The incident has not only tarnished the company’s image but also led to a broader debate about AI ethics and representation. Elon Musk criticized Google’s methodology, calling it ‘racist’ and ‘anti-civilizational.’ Musk’s comments further echo the growing concern about the ethical boundaries of AI technology and the need for a more diverse and accurate depiction of AI-generated content.
“I’m glad that Google overplayed their hand with their AI image generation, as it made their insane racist, anti-civilizational programming clear to all.”
In response to the controversy, Musk expressed his AI model, Grok, for which he intended to release further versions. The technology demonstrates a competitive edge in AI development, which might help overcome the limitations of existing models like Gemini. Furthermore, the coincidental name similarity between Grok and the Groq LPU chip spiked interest as the AI market is marked by fast innovation and acute competition.
Perhaps it is now clear why @xAI’s Grok is so important.
It is far from perfect right now, but will improve rapidly. V1.5 releases in 2 weeks.
Rigorous pursuit of the truth, without regard to criticism, has never been more essential.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 22, 2024
The path to improvement
Acknowledging the issue, Google intended to refine Gemini’s depiction capabilities. The company emphasized the importance of diversity in AI-generated images but admitted the current model’s shortcomings in accurately representing all demographics.
We're already working to address recent issues with Gemini's image generation feature. While we do this, we're going to pause the image generation of people and will re-release an improved version soon. https://t.co/SLxYPGoqOZ
— Google Communications (@Google_Comms) February 22, 2024
In the same vein, Google’s spokesperson, Krawczyk, admitted the model’s shortfall, emphasizing the need for a more balanced depiction that mirrors global diversity without compromising historical accuracy. To address these concerns, Google paused Gemini’s human image generation feature, signaling an enhanced version that better reflects the global diversity of its user base.
“We’re already working to address recent issues with Gemini’s image generation feature. While we do this, we’re going to pause the image generation of people and will re-release an improved version soon.”
and then