Google Co-Founder Sergey Brin Admits Google's Image Generation Mishap with Gemini
During a public appearance, Google co-founder Sergey Brin candidly addressed the recent controversy surrounding the company's AI chatbot, Gemini (previously known as Bard). Brin acknowledged that Google "messed up" with image generation, attributing the errors to insufficient testing procedures.
Gemini sparked global debate when it began displaying biased behaviour, including a refusal to generate images of white individuals and inaccurate depictions of historical figures. Brin's remarks shed light on the internal assessment of the situation, acknowledging shortcomings in testing protocols.
Acknowledging the Mishap: Sergey Brin's Admission
Brin's rare public appearance occurred at San Francisco's AGI House, where he engaged with a group testing Gemini. He told a group of people testing Gemini that he came out of his retirement as the trajectory of AI is quite exciting.
"We definitely messed up on the image generation," Brin said, adding that, according to him, the whole scenario happened due to a lack of testing. "It, for good reasons, upset a lot of people," he said.
Despite his retirement from his role as Alphabet's president in 2019, Brin remains involved with Google and holds a significant stake in the company. His return to address AI-related challenges underscores the importance of rectifying the issues surrounding Gemini.
Plans for Gemini's Return
Following the controversy, Google suspended Gemini's ability to generate human figures. However, Google DeepMind's CEO, Demis Hassabis, reassured that the AI tool would soon return with improvements. Hassabis acknowledged the unexpected outcomes with Gemini and highlighted ongoing efforts to address its shortcomings. He indicated that Gemini's suspended features would be reinstated within the next few weeks, signalling Google's commitment to resolving the situation swiftly and effectively.
"We care, of course, about historical accuracy, and so we've taken that feature offline while we fix that, and we hope to have that back online in very short order, the next couple of weeks, a few weeks," he said. The tool was not "working the way we intended", he added.
If you try to generate an image of a person in Gemini, you will get the following response: "We are working to improve Gemini's ability to generate images of people. We expect this feature to return soon and will notify you in release updates when it does."