(Credit: CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images)
To stop the spread of misinformation, Google is restricting its Gemini chatbot from answering any election-related questions.
The tech giant mentioned the restriction in a blog post about supporting the elections in India.
“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,” the company wrote. “We take our responsibility for providing high-quality information for these types of queries seriously, and are continuously working to improve our protections.”
But it looks like the restrictions go beyond India. If you ask Gemini about elections occurring in the US or other countries, the chatbot will deflect and simply say: “I'm still learning how to answer this question. In the meantime, try Google Search.”
(Credit: Google/Gemini)
(Credit: Google/Gemini)Google also indicated to PCMag that the restriction is rolling out widely, saying "in preparation for the many elections happening around the world in 2024 and out of an abundance of caution, we’re restricting the types of election-related queries for which Gemini will return responses."
The news arrives weeks after Gemini found itself embroiled in another controversy over generating historically inaccurate images of people, which some found offensive. For example, if you asked it to generate images of America’s “Founding Fathers,” Gemini could return pictures depicting a black, Native American, or Asian person instead. In response, Google has temporarily disabled Gemini’s ability to create images of people until the issue is ironed out.
Muzzling Gemini's ability to answer election-related topics could help Google avoid more embarrassment. But it’s also not a strong sign for Gemini, which the company envisions augmenting and possibly replacing traditional Google Search results.