Google limits AI chatbot Gemini from responding to questions about worldwide elections

Google announced on Tuesday that it will be limiting the ability of its AI chatbot Gemini to respond to inquiries regarding the upcoming global elections in an effort to prevent any potential errors in the use of the technology. Gemini is owned by Alphabet.

The update comes at a time when advances in generative artificial intelligence, including the creation of images and videos, have raised concerns about misconceptions and fake news among the public, prompting governments to regulate the technology.

When Geminis are asked about elections, such as the upcoming US presidential matchup between Joe Biden and Donald Trump, Gemini says, “I’m still learning how to answer that question. In the meantime, try a Google search.”

Google announced the restrictions in the US in December, saying they would take effect before the election.

“In preparation for the many elections that will be held around the world in 2024, and out of an abundance of caution, we are limiting the number of election-related queries that Gemini will respond to,” a company spokesperson said on Tuesday.

In addition to the United States, national elections are scheduled in several major countries, including South Africa and India, the world’s largest democracy.

India has asked tech companies to seek government approval before releasing “untrusted” or experimental AI tools and to flag them to return possible false answers.

Google’s AI products are under the scanner after inaccuracies in historical human depictions created by Gemini forced it to suspend the chatbot’s image creation feature late last month.

CEO Sundar Pichai had said the company was working to fix these issues and called the chatbot’s responses “biased” and “totally unacceptable.”

Facebook’s parent Meta Platforms said last month it was forming a group to combat disinformation and the misuse of generative artificial intelligence in the run-up to June’s European Parliament elections.