House Republicans demand answers from Google on awakened Gemini AI

Policy

by John Levin

House Republicans are demanding documents from Google in an attempt to determine the extent of the US government's involvement in influencing the company's artificial intelligence program, Gemini.

On Saturday, the House Judiciary Committee sent a letter to Alphabet, the parent company of Google and YouTube, insisting that all communications between the feds and Alphabet related to Gemini be turned over to the committee by March 17.

“In light of new reports regarding how Alphabet intentionally biased its AI model, Gemini, by giving it instructions that distorted results shared with Americans… we write to inform you that the Committee views the subpoena as a cover-up of material related to this technology,” the letter said. It was drafted by the committee's chairman, Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan.

Jordan said he was troubled by internal reports from Gemini's team that it followed Biden's White House directive that AI should promote “equality” — a left-wing idea that says Black people and other historically marginalized groups should be encouraged and highlighted. Of whites and other groups who have not historically been marginalized – regardless of merit.

Google's Gemini system was widely ridiculed after it emerged that the system refused to produce images of white people and instead churned out “diverse” images of the Founding Fathers, popes and Vikings.

“Given that Alphabet has censored First Amendment-protected speech as a result of requests and demands from government agencies in the past, the committee is concerned about potential First Amendment violations that have occurred in connection with Alphabet's Gemini model,” the letter continued.

Artificial intelligence is a serious problem on the technological horizon, said Imgesu Cetin, founder of Genie AI, which focuses on data analysis.

“It says not to write anything racist or sexist, but then you start to play with the truth. George Washington was not a black man. To manipulate reality is a really big danger,” she told The Washington Post.