New Delhi: The IT Ministry is reportedly gearing up to issue a notice to Google after its chatbot Gemini replied to a user and purportedly answered that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a “fascist”.
In a report, The Indian Express quoted a senior government official who said that Google’s generative AI platform Gemini, formerly known as Bard, had previously provided objectionable responses to a user seeking a summary of an article from a conservative outlet. The recent responses regarding PM Modi have prompted the issuance of this notice.
According to a screenshot shared by a user on social media platform X, Gemini was queried about whether PM Modi is a ‘fascist’, to which the platform responded by stating that he has been “accused of implementing policies some experts have characterized as fascist,” citing factors like the “BJP’s Hindu nationalist ideology, its crackdown on dissent, and its use of violence against religious minorities”.
However, the screenshot revealed that when asked a similar question about former US President Donald Trump, Gemini responded with: “Elections are a complex topic with fast-changing information. To make sure you have the most accurate information, try Google Search.”
Also Read: Google temporarily suspends Gemini chatbot’s ability to generate pictures of people
In response to the post, Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar said, “These are direct violations of Rule 3(1)(b) of Intermediary Rules (IT rules) of the IT Act and violations of several provisions of the Criminal code.” These rules pertain to basic due diligence required of intermediaries like Google to enjoy immunity from third-party content.
A senior IT Ministry official said that this was the second instance of Google’s AI system providing “answers replete with biases”.
This development underscores the ongoing struggle between legislators and technology companies regarding the future of safe harbour protections for generative AI platforms like Gemini and ChatGPT.
Recently, Google apologised for what it described as “inaccuracies in some historical image generation depictions” with its Gemini AI tool, following criticism that it depicted white figures, such as the US Founding Fathers, or groups like Nazi-era German soldiers, as people of color.
