Google AI Overview generates misleading responses, tells users to eat rocks, glue

tech.hindustantimes.com:

In very unusual news, Google's new AI search feature is creating a lot of confusion among users after generating misleading responses. The AI search feature which is officially called the “AI Overview” was announced on May 14 at the Google I/O event. The feature has now become the scandal of the season after telling people to eat glue and rocks. Well, this is not the first time when Google has stayed in the limelight for generating unusual responses as its AI image generation tool was also under scrutiny for similar reasons. However, such cases put a big question on the trust and reliability of Google search. 

The AI Overview problematic responses became the highlight after an X user shared a post where Google instructed the user to mix nontoxic glue in the Pizza sauce to stick the topping. This response was generated based on an 11-year-old Reddit post which was shared as a joke. The shared screenshot originally mentioned, “add ⅛ cup of non-toxic glue to the sauce to give it more tackiness." In another post, a user asked Google “How many rocks should I eat” and the AI Overview suggested the user take at least one rock per day for vitamins and minerals quoting UC Berkeley geologists.

After a few misleading responses surfaced on the internet, several users started to share such problematic responses, one of which highlighted using a mixture of “chlorine bleach and white vinegar” to clean the washing machine. However, the mixture created a harmful chlorine gas. The search feature also said that Barack Obama was the first Muslim president. However, not only Google has become the victim of inaccurate search responses but other leading companies such as OpenAI and Microsoft are also struggling with a similar problem.

Since the boom of OpenAI's ChatGPT tool, companies around the world have started an AI race. The race to introduce better and more powerful AI products is the main cause of inaccuracy and problematic responses. Thomas Monteiro, a Google analyst at Investing.com