Stick cheese on pizza and eat rocks, says Google’s new AI feature as errors flood social media | Scientific and technological news

Google’s new AI feature is facing criticism after issuing inaccurate answers to questions. This appears to reinforce conspiracy theories that Barack Obama is secretly Muslim, while also suggesting dangerous dietary choices.

Google’s new search feature that uses AI to answer some users’ questions is being criticized for inaccurate answers, including telling users to eat rocks and mix pizza cheese with glue.

AI Overview rolled out in the US last week and became available to some users in the UK last month.

It’s designed to make finding information easier, but since its deployment, examples of the feature’s erratic behavior have flooded social media.

In one example, the artificial intelligence (AI) seemed to tell users to mix glue with cheese so it sticks to the pizza. He even elaborated: “You can also add about ⅛ cup of non-toxic glue to the sauce to make it extra sticky.”

This recommendation seems to come from a joke Reddit post 11 years ago and should not be followed. Eating glue is dangerous.

Another response told users that only 17 of the 42 U.S. presidents have been white. “I’m learning a lot about American history with Google’s AI Overview,” posted Bobby Allyn, who spotted the error.

AI Overview also claimed former US president Barack Obama is Muslim. While President Obama was in office, there were many conspiracy theories circulating that he was secretly practicing Islam despite being a Christian.

Former President Obama spokesperson Tommy Vietor released the search result, sarcastically stating, “Google’s new AI preview search is off to a great start.”

In response to the question “what is a safe temperature to cook chicken,” a user posted a result appearing to show that Google’s answer was 38 degrees Celsius.

The safe temperature is actually 73.9 degrees Celsius and the chicken should stay at this temperature throughout. If it is lower, you risk contracting a number of dangerous diseases.

On the subject of things you shouldn’t eat, AI Overview also recommended one user eat “at least one small stone a day,” according to user X Heshiebee.

The response even cites “UC Berkeley geologists” as the source of the recommendation, saying the rocks “contain vitamins and minerals that are important for digestive health.” It does, however, come with a warning that eating stones “may be dangerous.”

To be clear, you shouldn’t eat stones. It could kill you.

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However, Google claims that these responses are not representative of how the tool generally works.

“The examples we’ve seen are generally very rare queries and are not representative of most people’s experiences,” a Google spokesperson told Sky News.

“The vast majority of AI overviews provide high-quality information, with links to further your knowledge across the web. We conducted extensive testing before launching this new experience to ensure the AI ​​previews met our high standards for quality.

“Where there have been violations of our policies, we have taken action – and we are also using these isolated examples as we continue to refine our systems overall.”