In the lead-up to Super Bowl 59, Google has stirred controversy with a commercial showcasing its Gemini AI. The ad depicts a small business owner utilizing Gemini to craft a description for Gouda Cheese on the Wisconsin Cheese Mart's website. However, scrutiny revealed that the text showcased as AI-generated was actually lifted from the company's site, which had published it back in August 2020—three years prior to Gemini's launch. This revelation has raised questions about the authenticity of Google's claims regarding the capabilities of its AI platform.
Google's series of Super Bowl ads emphasizes the role of Gemini AI in assisting small businesses across the nation. In this instance, the Wisconsin Cheese Mart was depicted as benefiting from AI-driven copywriting. Yet, the ad faced backlash not only for its misrepresentation of AI capabilities but also for incorrectly asserting that Gouda constituted "50 to 60 percent of the world’s cheese consumption." Following criticism, this statistic was hastily removed from both the advertisement and the company’s website.
Despite the removal of the misleading statistic, Google continues to assert that the product description for Gouda Cheese was authored by Gemini. Jerry Dischler, President of Google Cloud apps, defended the claim in a tweet, suggesting that the removed statistic should not be categorized as an AI hallucination. “Gemini is grounded in the Web,” he stated.
This product description of Gouda cheese was found on a 2000 website, proving that Gemini AI did not write it. | Image credit-The Verge
It’s important to note that AI systems often produce misinformation—a phenomenon dubbed 'hallucination’. The Gemini website itself acknowledges this risk, advising users to “double-check” the outputs generated by the AI.
Jerry Dischler, President of Google Cloud apps: "Gemini is grounded in the Web." | Image credit-X
In response to the backlash, Michele Wyman, a spokesperson for Google, stated that the company acted on Wisconsin Cheese Mart’s suggestion to avoid using the disputed statistic in the commercial. Ultimately, the crux of the debate lies in the fact that the original product description was not authored by Gemini, contrary to Google’s initial assertions.
