Google Temporarily Halts Gemini AI’s Image Generation Amid Criticism for Misrepresentation

Google has temporarily halted the image generation feature of its Gemini AI model following criticism over its failure to accurately represent images of white individuals.

The decision came after users shared images created by Gemini predominantly featuring people of color, even in historical scenes involving only white individuals. The tech giant acknowledged the issue, stating that while Gemini’s AI typically generates a diverse range of people, it has fallen short in this specific aspect.

In response to the backlash, Google announced on Thursday that it is actively working to address the concerns and will temporarily pause the generation of images depicting people. The company plans to release an improved version of Gemini’s image generation feature in the near future.

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The controversy surrounding Gemini erupted as images generated by the AI circulated on social media, leading to widespread criticism and accusations that Google is prioritizing a “woke” agenda over truth and accuracy. Some examples cited included depictions of non-white Swedish women and images portraying Black and Asian Nazi soldiers.

Debarghya Das, the founding engineer of enterprise search startup Glean, expressed frustration, stating, “It’s embarrassingly hard to get Google Gemini to acknowledge that white people exist,” accompanied by several images generated by the AI.

This incident adds to the challenges faced by Google in the development and rollout of AI products. The company has previously apologized for inaccuracies in its AI chatbot Bard, which falsely claimed that the James Webb Space Telescope took the first pictures of a planet outside the solar system during a demo. As Google works to address these setbacks, the pause on Gemini’s image generation is a step towards rectifying issues related to representation and accuracy in AI-generated content.