Google’s new search feature, which uses artificial intelligence to answer some users’ questions, is facing criticism for its inaccurate responses, including telling users to eat rocks and mix pizza cheese with glue.
AI Overview launched across the US last week and became available to some users in the UK last month.
It’s designed to make it easier to find information, but since its launch, examples of the feature’s erratic behavior have flooded social media.
In one example, the Artificial Intelligence (AI) It seemed to tell users to mix glue with cheese to make it stick to their pizza. It even gave details: “You can also add about ⅛ cup of non-toxic glue to the sauce to make it stickier.”
That recommendation seems to have come from a joke. Reddit Posted 11 years ago and should not be followed. Eating glue is dangerous.
Another response told users that only 17 of the 42 US presidents were white. “I’m learning a lot about US history with Google’s AI overview,” posted Bobby Allyn, who spotted the error.
AI Overview also claimed that former US President Barack Obama He is a Muslim. While President Obama was in office, there were multiple false conspiracy theories claiming that he secretly practiced Islam despite being a Christian.
Former President Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor posted the search result and sarcastically said, “Google’s new AI-powered general search is off to a great start.”
In response to the question “what is a safe temperature to cook chicken?”, one user posted a result that appeared to show Google’s answer as 38 degrees Celsius.
The safe temperature is 73.9 degrees Celsius and the chicken must be kept at this temperature throughout the entire process. If the temperature is lower, it runs the risk of contracting a number of dangerous diseases.
On the topic of things you shouldn’t eat, AI Overview also recommended one user eat “at least one small stone a day,” according to user X Heshiebee.
The response even cited “geologists at the University of California, Berkeley” as the source of the recommendation, saying that rocks “contain vitamins and minerals that are important for digestive health.” However, it comes with a warning that eating rocks “can be dangerous.”
Just to be clear, you shouldn’t eat rocks, because you could die if you do.
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However, Google says these responses are not representative of how the tool works overall.
“The examples we’ve seen are generally very uncommon queries and are not representative of most people’s experiences,” a Google spokesperson told Sky News.
“The vast majority of AI overviews provide high-quality information, with links to find more information on the web. We conducted extensive testing before launching this new experience to ensure that AI overviews meet our high quality standards.
“When violations of our policies have occurred, we have taken action, and we are also using these isolated examples as we continue to refine our systems overall.”
