Alphabet, the parent company of Google, has faced a significant decline in its stock market value following the suspension of features in its new artificial intelligence tool, Gemini. Since pausing the image generation feature of Gemini on February 22, Alphabet shares have fallen by 5.4%, resulting in a loss of $96.9 billion in market cap. This decline is in contrast to the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite, which have experienced smaller losses during the same time period.
The decision to halt Gemini's image generation feature was made after users raised concerns about bias in the tool. Some users pointed out that Gemini was creating inaccurate historical images by replacing White people with images of Black, Native American, and Asian individuals. Google CEO Sundar Pichai acknowledged the issue, calling the images generated by Gemini "completely unacceptable" and stating that the company is working diligently to address the bias.
Pichai informed employees that Google is working "around the clock" to fix the bias issues in Gemini and plans to relaunch the AI tool in the coming weeks. The company has issued apologies for the controversy surrounding Gemini, with Pichai stating that the tool's responses were offensive to users. Google is committed to reviewing the situation and ensuring that the bias is addressed at scale.
Overall, Alphabet's struggles with Gemini highlight the challenges and complexities of developing AI technology that is free from bias. The company's efforts to rectify the issues and improve the accuracy of the tool demonstrate a commitment to addressing concerns raised by users and maintaining trust in its products.