Google Co-Founder Admits Company 'Definitely Messed Up' With Gemini Image Generation

Google Gemini has recently faced criticism for producing “historically inaccurate images,” drawing disapproval from CEO Sundar Pichai himself. Pichai called it “completely unacceptable.” And now, Google’s co-founder, Sergey Brin, too, has shared his perspective on the matter, acknowledging that the Gemini AI chatbot “definitely messed up.”

As reported by CNBC, Brin presented these views at the AGI House in California, emphasising that Google had faltered in image generation. “We definitely messed up on the image generation; I think it was mostly due to just not thorough testing and it definitely, for good reasons, upset a lot of people.” Brin said.

Following the Gemini image incident, Google has temporarily suspended Gemini’s ability to create images. The chatbot has also faced accusations of delivering inappropriate responses and failing to condemn pedophilia.

Brin additionally commented on the chatbot’s perceived bias, stating that Google does not understand why it “leans left.” “We haven’t fully understood why it leans left in many cases and that’s not our intention,” Brin said. He added, “If you try it over this last week it should be 80pc better of the test cases that we’ve covered.”

It’s worth noting that Sergey Brin no longer holds a role at Google but remains a board member alongside Larry Page. Brin recently has started to get more involved, and per reports, he has come out of retirement “because the trajectory of AI is so exciting.”

That said, Gemini also sparked a controversy in India when the chatbot was asked about the Indian Prime Minster Narendra Modi. Since then, MeitY has launched an advisory on March 1 addressing platforms utilising generative AI models and algorithms. The advisory emphasises the necessity for these platforms to ask “explicit permission of the government of India” before they are launched in India. Moreover, the companies should ensure that their models shouldn’t “host, display, upload, modify, publish, transmit, store, update or share any unlawful content,” and that “Non-compliance with provisions would result in penal consequences.”