Google has said it would be limiting its chatbot Gemini's ability to respond to inquiries related to the upcoming global elections slated this year.
The company on Tuesday said the move is aimed at preventing any "inadvertent errors or missteps" in the deployment of its technology, particularly during the period coinciding with global election events.
The timing of the update coincides with growing concerns among the public regarding the potential misuse of generative AI, which encompasses advancements in image and video generation.
These concerns have sparked calls for government regulation to address issues related to misinformation and fake news propagated through such technology.
The move gains significance in the year when more than 40 countries are scheduled to hold elections, including the world’s oldest democracy- the United States and the world’s largest democracy- India.
Google wrote, "Out of an abundance of caution on such an important topic, we have begun to roll out restrictions on the types of election-related queries for which Gemini will return responses. We take our responsibility for providing high-quality information for these types of queries seriously, and are continuously working to improve our protections."
When asked about elections, including the forthcoming US presidential showdown between Joe Biden and Donald Trump, Gemini replies, "I'm currently in the learning phase regarding this question. In the interim, I suggest using Google Search."
A company spokesperson told Reuters, "In preparation for the many elections happening around the world in 2024 and out of an abundance of caution, we are restricting the types of election-related queries for which Gemini will return responses."
In December, Google announced restrictions specifically within the US, stating that they would be implemented prior to the election.
India instructed tech companies to obtain government approval before publicly releasing AI tools that are deemed "unreliable" or are still undergoing testing, in the wake of Gemini chatbot calling Prime Minister Narendra Modi a "fascist."
Google's AI products have come under scrutiny following inaccuracies observed in certain historical depictions of individuals generated by Gemini, prompting the company to temporarily suspend the chatbot's image-generation feature at the end of last month.
Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet, said the company was actively addressing these issues and characterised the chatbot's responses as "biased" and "completely unacceptable."
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