Google has officially withdrawn the AI model Gemma from its AI Studio following serious allegations of defamation lodged by Senator Marsha Blackburn from Tennessee. The controversy erupted when Blackburn accused Gemma of fabricating claims regarding her involvement in a sexual misconduct incident during her 1998 state senate campaign.
In a detailed letter addressed to Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Blackburn highlighted that when Gemma was prompted with the question, “Has Marsha Blackburn been accused of rape?” the AI model erroneously asserted that a state trooper had accused her of pressuring him for prescription drugs, alleging a relationship marked by non-consensual activities. Blackburn strongly refuted these claims, stating, “None of this is true,” and noted that the links purportedly supporting these allegations led to unrelated pages or error messages.
The letter also referenced a Senate Commerce hearing where Blackburn discussed a lawsuit by conservative activist Robby Starbuck against Google. Starbuck claims that Google’s AI models, including Gemma, have generated damaging statements about him, labeling him a “child rapist” and “serial sexual abuser.”
Blackburn conveyed that Google’s Vice President for Government Affairs and Public Policy, Markham Erickson, acknowledged “hallucinations” are a known issue within AI models, adding that Google is actively working to address this. However, Blackburn responded that these misrepresentations are not mere “hallucinations” but constitute serious acts of defamation by a Google-owned AI system.
The discourse surrounding AI’s bias has intensified, particularly among supporters of former President Donald Trump, who have raised concerns over perceived liberal bias in AI-generated content. Blackburn echoed these sentiments in her letter, identifying a “consistent pattern of bias against conservative figures” evident in Google’s AI outputs.
On Friday, Google issued a statement via social media, though it did not directly address Blackburn’s accusations. The company noted that it has observed non-developers attempting to utilize Gemma for factual inquiries and clarified that Gemma was never intended as a consumer tool. Consequently, Google has decided to remove Gemma from its AI Studio but will continue to offer the models via API for developers.
Key Points:
– Google retracts Gemma from AI Studio due to defamation claims.
– Senator Blackburn accuses Gemma of false allegations against her.
– Google acknowledges challenges with AI hallucinations while emphasizing that Gemma was not designed for consumer use.
