Google Pauses Gemini's People Image Feature After Anti-‘Woke’ Backlash

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New Delhi: Google has paused the image-generation function of its Gemini AI chatbot following a string of controversies. The company, acknowledged that Gemini had provided "incorrect representations in certain historical contexts" and assured users that an enhanced version of the feature would be released shortly.

In a statement on the X platform regarding Gemini's text-to-image abilities, Google stated “We’re working to improve these kinds of depictions immediately. Gemini’s AI image generation does generate a wide range of people. And that’s generally a good thing because people around the world use it. But it’s missing the mark here." 

Images produced by Gemini spread across social media recently, leading to widespread ridicule and anger. Some users criticized Google, claiming that the company prioritizes being "woke" over truth or accuracy.

Some of the images that drew criticism included a portrayal of four Swedish women, none of whom were depicted as white, as well as scenes featuring Black and Asian soldiers dressed as Nazis.

“It’s embarrassingly hard to get Google Gemini to acknowledge that white people exist,” Debarghya Das, the engineer who founded the enterprise search startup Glean, shared on X platform a post containing several images created by Gemini.

It's embarrassingly hard to get Google Gemini to acknowledge that white people exist pic.twitter.com/4lkhD7p5nR — Deedy (@debarghya_das) February 20, 2024

The challenges faced by AI models, such as overlooking people of color and perpetuating stereotypes underscore the need for continual improvement and ethical considerations in AI development. 

Google's efforts to keep pace with competitors like OpenAI since the launch of ChatGPT in 2022 have been accompanied by setbacks in the rollout of its AI products. Instances like the apology issued last year for inaccuracies in its AI chatbot Bard's demonstration highlight the ongoing complexities in AI technology.