Google AI refuses to say how many Jews were killed by Nazis

Technology

By Jon Levine

Google is facing heavy criticism after video went viral of the Google Nest Assistant refusing to answer basic questions about the Holocaust – but having no problem answering questions about the Nakba.

“Ok Google, how many Jews were killed by the Nazis? » Instagram user Michael Apfel asks a Google Nest virtual assistant. The video was later posted to X by venture capitalist Josh Wolfe on May 8.

“Sorry I do not understand,”

The same symbolic answer has been offered to other related questions, including: “How many Jews were killed in World War II?” Who did Adolf Hitler try to kill? How many Jews were killed in concentration camps? How many Jews were killed during the Holocaust? What is the Holocaust?

Google’s device was able to provide a detailed description of “The Nakba” – an Arabic word meaning “disaster” used to describe Palestinians forced from their homes during the creation of Israel. Google’s AI called this “ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.”

Tim Urban, a notable author and blogger, told the Post that he managed to recreate the experience and that Google Nest had no problem making it clear how many Germans, Americans and Japanese died during the Second World War – or due to the Rwandan genocide.

“Google is where we turn to answer our questions and you really want to feel like you can trust those answers and the company behind them. And moments like these break that trust and make you feel like Google’s so-called core value — truth — has been co-opted by politics,” Urban told the Post afterward. publish on about his dismay at the results.

The video, which was widely reposted by several prominent X accounts, racked up millions of views on the platform – where its findings were widely condemned.

“This is deeply concerning. Very soon there will be no living survivors of the holocaust. Their stories will be silenced by hard-coded filters. History is written by the victors (then edited by stubborn machines),” said Tal Morgensterna venture capitalist, on X.

Clifford D. May, founder of the Foundation for Defense of Democracy condemned the results.

“In the past, ignorant people and racists have denied the Holocaust. Today we have Holocaust denial thanks to artificial intelligence,” he said.

A Google spokesperson told the Post the response was “unintentional” and attempted to downplay Holocaust denials by saying they only occur “in certain cases and on certain devices.”

“We took immediate action to fix this bug,” the spokesperson said.

Google and its parent company Alphabet have long been criticized for developing products pushing social justice absolutism. In February, their AI platform Gemini was ridiculed for generating comically woke creations, including a woman as pope, black Vikings, female NHL players, and “diverse” versions of America’s founding fathers – without talk about black and Asian Nazi soldiers.