Google Gemini Halted From Making AI Images Of People. Here's Why

Debarghya Das, a former Google computer scientist, stated on X, formerly Twitter that "it's embarrassingly difficult to prompt Google Gemini to recognise the existence of white people."

For instance, when prompted for images of America's founding fathers, the results included women and individuals of colour. ( Image Source :Getty )

Google's parent company, Alphabet, announced on Thursday (February 22) that it is temporarily halting the image generation of people by its artificial intelligence (AI) model Gemini and will soon introduce an enhanced version, the media has reported. This comes after several social media users voiced concerns about Gemini AI model generating images of people of colour in historically inaccurate settings.

For instance, when prompted for images of America's founding fathers, the results included women and individuals of colour. The tech giant has acknowledged that its tool was "missing the mark", as reported by BBC.

"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," Jack Krawczyk, Senior Director for Gemini Experiences was quoted as saying in the BBC report.

Debarghya Das, a former Google computer scientist, stated on X, formerly Twitter that "it's embarrassingly difficult to prompt Google Gemini to recognise the existence of white people."

"We're already working to address recent issues with Gemini's image generation feature. While we do this, we're going to pause the image generation of people and will re-release an improved version soon," Google Communications posted on X.

We're already working to address recent issues with Gemini's image generation feature. While we do this, we're going to pause the image generation of people and will re-release an improved version soon. https://t.co/SLxYPGoqOZ

— Google Communications (@Google_Comms) February 22, 2024

It should be noted that Google expanded the reach of its Gemini app last week and made it accessible in more than 150 countries and territories globally, including in India. This was exactly a week after Google said it is rebranding its Bard chatbot to Gemini, alongside the launch of a standalone Gemini app for Android devices.

Since its launch, the Gemini app for Android has been garnering traction due to its innovative functionalities. Now, with support for English, Korean and Japanese languages, the Gemini app caters to a diverse audience, enhancing its accessibility and appeal. As stated on Google's support page, the expansion to more than 150 countries is intended to democratize AI-driven conversations, making them accessible to a worldwide audience.