It is one of the most popular AI chatbots in the world.
But Google’s Gemini has been accused of being racist towards white people.
The tool uses artificial intelligence to create images of prompts in seconds.
But users claim the AI bot refuses to create images of white people after testing it with requests to popes, Vikings and country music fans.
‘New game: try to get Google Gemini to draw an image of a white man. So far I haven’t succeeded,” wrote one user on X (formerly Twitter).
It is one of the most popular AI chatbots in the world. But Google’s Gemini has been accused of being racist towards white people
‘New game: try to get Google Gemini to draw an image of a white man. So far I haven’t succeeded,” wrote one user on X (formerly Twitter)
Google last week launched its ‘next-generation model’, Gemini 1.5, with the ability to generate images.
“Gemini Apps lets you create compelling images in seconds,” Google said.
‘From work, play or anything in between, Gemini Apps can help you generate images to bring your imagination to life.’
To create an image, users can write simple prompts for the AI bot, which Google recommends starting with words like draw, generate, and create.
Several avid fans have been testing out the tool, creating images of everything from dogs riding surfboards to flying cars.
However, some early users have noticed that the vast majority of images of people generated by the tool are not white.
The problem was first reported on X by Frank J. Fleming, a former computer engineer and children’s television writer.
The problem was first noticed on X by Frank J Fleming, a former computer engineer and children’s television writer
Mr. Fleming first asked Google Gemini to “create a picture of a pope” and discovered that both creations were people of color. He then tried to “think of new ways to ask about a white person without explicitly saying so.”
Mr. Fleming first asked Google Gemini to “create a picture of a pope” and discovered that both creations were people of color.
He then tried to “think of new ways to ask about a white person without explicitly saying so.”
But his requests for images of medieval knights, someone eating a mayonnaise sandwich on white bread, someone who can’t dance well, a fan of country music and a Viking only yielded images of people of color.
He finally managed to create an image of a white man and a white woman when he asked Google Gemini for an image of “people who might be named Seamus.”
Mr Fleming initially wondered whether the ‘diversity’ algorithm was the cause of this problem.
To test this theory, he asked the bot for images of Zulu warriors and samurais, but again found that these were all depicted as people of color.
‘This is just interesting for me as a programmer. Now I just want to poke around until I can figure out what the algorithm is,” he wrote.
Mr. Fleming’s requests for images of medieval knights, someone eating a mayonnaise sandwich on white bread, a bad dancer, a country music fan and a Viking also only resulted in images of people of color
He finally managed to create an image of a white man and a white woman when he asked Google Gemini for an image of ‘people possibly named Seamus’
“If it’s just trying to diversify whatever prompt (i.e., give its Latino Zulus) that seems easier than what it’s doing.
“It has to first figure out whether a prompt would normally be mostly white people, and then force it to diversify through some algorithm.”
Another user specifically asked Google Gemini for an image of a Caucasian Pope, claiming that the resulting image came “with a free reading.”
Next to a photo of Pope Benedict, the tool wrote: “While it is not appropriate to assume that all popes are white, many are of European descent.”
Another user specifically asked Google Gemini for an image of a Caucasian Pope, claiming the resulting image came “with a free reading”
One user said: ‘It’s embarrassingly hard to get Google Gemini to acknowledge that white people exist’
In response, several users have called Google Gemini “racist” and “woke.”
“So I set out to see if Google’s AI, called Gemini, actually discriminates and is racist towards white people…. and yes it is,” one user tweeted.
“I’ve tried (literally) over a hundred different clues and Gemini won’t acknowledge that white people exist. this is fucking scary and racist.”
Another wrote: ‘I played with Google Gemini for 10 minutes, it’s a joke.’
And someone said, “It’s embarrassingly hard to get Google Gemini to acknowledge that white people exist.”
MailOnline has contacted Google for comment.