Google CEO Sundar Pichai’s 2016 commitment to leverage artificial intelligence (AI) in the fight against misinformation is under renewed scrutiny, particularly in light of the recent controversy surrounding Google’s AI tool, Gemini.
Pichai’s remarks, made in the aftermath of the 2016 election during an employee meeting, emphasized the potential of machine learning and AI to address misinformation. The comments, highlighted by Michael Shellenberger in his Substack newsletter, have gained attention following issues with Google’s Gemini AI tool, flagged by users for exhibiting bias against White people.
During the employee meeting, Pichai had expressed that the company’s investments in machine learning and AI presented a significant opportunity. Shellenberger argues that these comments, combined with the context of the meeting, suggest that Google had political motivations well before the Gemini rollout.
The controversy surrounding Gemini, according to Shellenberger, is rooted in Google’s “hyper-woke culture,” where around 90% of employee donations reportedly go to Democrats, and the company’s former CEO had connections with Hillary Clinton.
In response to the recent issues with Gemini, Pichai assured employees that efforts were underway to address the problems. He stated, “Our teams have been working around the clock to address these issues. We’re already seeing a substantial improvement on a wide range of prompts … And we’ll review what happened and make sure we fix it at scale.”
Shellenberger, in an interview with FOX Business, expressed a level of satisfaction with the Gemini controversy, viewing it as an opportunity to shed light on Google’s political bias. He remarked, “Google has sort of gotten a pass in its bias and censorship compared to Facebook and Twitter. Folks, including myself, have really not given the scrutiny to Google that it deserves.”
Google, in response to the controversy, pointed to a letter by Pichai published on Semafor, where he acknowledged the issues with Gemini, stating, “I know that some of its responses have offended our users and show bias – to be clear, that’s completely unacceptable and we got it wrong.” Pichai reiterated the company’s commitment to providing helpful, accurate, and unbiased information across all its products, including emerging AI offerings.
