Google's New AI 'Gemini' Induces Skepticism Following Misleading Demo

Google has officially unveiled 'Gemini', a state-of-the-art AI model collection that's been lauded as the tech giant's most powerful to date. However, not long after its announcement, criticisms surfaced regarding the authenticity of its capabilities as demonstrated in a promotional video.

A Questionable Presentation

After Gemini's reveal, a video demonstration intended to highlight its prowess titled 'what the quack' was released. The engaging demo showcased Gemini adeptly handling tasks combining voice and image recognition. Yet, suspicions about the AI's true capabilities were raised when Bloomberg columnist Parmy Olson suggested that the performance seemed too good to be true, implying that the video might not be a genuine representation of real-time interaction.

The Fine Print

Upon closer inspection, the YouTube video description contained a disclaimer noting that, for the demo, the latency was reduced and responses were shortened for conciseness. Olson took issue with this revelation, asserting that the video had been manipulated using still images and text prompts in place of real-time spoken ones, contrasting with the impression of seamless live interaction given by the video.

Google's history of producing questionable AI demonstrations exacerbates the current concerns. From the controversy around its Duplex AI's calling capabilities to Baidu's Ernie Bot’s edited demo videos, there's a trend in the tech industry of polished demonstrations that may not accurately reflect a product’s live performance.

Google's Defense

Despite the skepticism, Google insists on the authenticity of the Gemini demo. Oriol Vinyals of Google's DeepMind responded to the critiques asserting that the video was intended to demonstrate potential user experiences with Gemini and inspire developers. Nevertheless, many believe that truly experiencing the AI's capabilities would be more convincing than a polished demonstration.

The discussion around Google's presentation practices highlights the importance of transparency and the need for live experiences to showcase AI technology genuinely, especially when aiming to gain trust and spark developer interest.

Google, AI, Gemini