Quick Hit

Alphabet, Google's parent company, experienced a significant drop in market value, losing over $70 billion as stock prices fell by up to 4.4% on Monday. This followed the temporary suspension of Google Gemini's AI image creator and the surfacing of controversial responses from Gemini's chat feature.

Key Details

• Google's AI platform, Gemini, has been criticized for generating controversial images and responses, leading to a pause in its image creator feature.
• Alphabet's market value dropped by over $70 billion, with stock prices falling by up to 4.4%.
• Google DeepMind CEO, Demis Hassabis, announced that the image generating feature would be offline for a few weeks to address the issues raised.

Diving Deeper

Google's AI platform, Gemini, has been under fire recently for generating controversial images and responses. The images included a female pope, a black George Washington, and other racially diverse recreations of historic figures. The chat feature has also been criticized for refusing to condemn pedophilia, failing to define what a woman is, and not providing straightforward answers when asked to compare popular conservative figures with past dictators like Hitler and Stalin.

These issues have led to a significant drop in Alphabet's market value, with the company losing over $70 billion as stock prices fell by up to 4.4% on Monday. This plunge was further fueled by a research note from Melius Research analyst Ben Reitzes, who warned that the problems with Gemini could lead to the perception of Google as an "unreliable source for AI". This comes at a time when many companies are trying to launch their own AI platforms.

Google DeepMind CEO, Demis Hassabis, announced on Monday that the image generating feature of Gemini would be taken offline for a few weeks to address the issues raised. Speaking at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Hassabis admitted that the feature was "not working in the way we intended." He added that they are hoping to have the feature back online in the next couple of weeks.

The controversy surrounding Gemini and the subsequent drop in Alphabet's market value highlight the challenges that tech companies face in developing and implementing AI technology. It also underscores the importance of ensuring that these technologies are reliable and free from bias, as any missteps can have significant financial and reputational consequences.