Google faces criticism for AI’s refusal to disclose number of Jews killed in Holocaust: Accused of ‘malicious human interference’

Google is facing backlash after a viral video exposed the Google Nest assistant’s refusal to answer basic questions about the Holocaust. The video, shared by Instagram user Michael Apfel, showed the AI responding with “Sorry, I don’t understand” to questions such as “How many Jews were killed by the Nazis?” and “How many Jews were killed in the concentration camps?”

Interestingly, while Google Nest struggled to provide answers about the Holocaust, it effortlessly answered questions about ‘The Nakba,’ a term describing Palestinians being forced out of their homes during Israel’s creation. The device described it as the “ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.”

The video, shared by famed author and blogger Tim Urban, sparked outrage and calls for investigation into the incident. Urban expressed his disappointment, stating, “Google is where we go to answer our questions, and you just really want to feel like you can trust those answers and the company behind them.”

Venture capitalist Tal Morgenstern also weighed in, highlighting the potential for “malevolent human intervention” in closed AI models. He urged Google to investigate and audit the model to identify any malicious intent behind the AI’s responses.

In response to the controversy, a Google spokesperson assured that the response was “not intended” and was a result of a bug that only occurred in some instances and on certain devices. The spokesperson stated that immediate action had been taken to rectify the issue.

The incident has raised concerns about the reliability of AI technology and the need for transparency in the development and implementation of such systems. Critics have condemned the AI’s denial of the Holocaust as a troubling example of misinformation and urged for stricter oversight in AI programming.