Google Co-Founder Sergey Brin Acknowledges Bias in Gemini AI Tool
Google co-founder Sergey Brin has admitted that the tech giant “definitely messed up” with the image generation feature of its new artificial intelligence tool, Gemini. This comes in response to backlash over the tool’s bias against White people. Brin made the confession during a speaking engagement at Silicon Valley’s AGI House, where he acknowledged that Gemini had upset many people with the images it generated.
Brin, who co-founded Google in 1998 and stepped down as president of Alphabet in 2019, remains on the company’s board and has been involved in Gemini’s development. He admitted that Google had not fully understood why Gemini displayed a bias, with images often leaning left. Brin assured the audience that efforts were being made to improve the model, and the test cases conducted in the past week showed an 80% improvement.
Last month, Google pulled the plug on Gemini’s image generation feature after users on social media raised concerns about inaccurate historical images that sometimes replaced White people with images of Black, Native American, and Asian people. Google CEO Sundar Pichai addressed employees last week, stating that the company was working tirelessly to rectify the bias, which he deemed “completely unacceptable.”
According to reports, Google is planning to relaunch Gemini AI’s image generation capability in the coming weeks. Despite the recent setback, Brin remains one of the company’s top stockholders with over 360 million shares. The tech giant is committed to resolving the bias issue and ensuring the tool functions ethically and accurately.
Analyst comment
Negative news. The market may experience a temporary decline as the backlash against Gemini’s bias affects Google’s reputation. However, with ongoing efforts to improve the model and relaunch the tool, the market is expected to recover gradually. Brin’s significant stockholding provides some stability and confidence for investors.
