Exploring Google's AI chatbot Gemini, its controversies over bias and progressive ideologies, and the debate on guiding AI with social values. The discussion delves into strategies to address bias in AI models, unintended consequences, and the challenges of balancing societal values in AI development. Additionally, the podcast explores innovative approaches to youth mental health and political developments.
Debate on guiding AI with social values intensifies after Google's Gemini faces backlash for biases in image generation.
Google's AI bias mitigation efforts unintentionally led to overcorrection in Gemini, highlighting challenges in balancing values for ethical AI development.
Deep dives
Youth Mental Health Crisis
The state of youth mental health is at a crisis level, with a significant percentage of children experiencing mental distress. Doctors are exploring beyond traditional research and therapy to address the challenges. Genetic research is enhancing our understanding of children's mental health, shedding light on hereditary components.
AI Ethics and Google's Chatbot
Google's new chatbot, Gemini, powered by artificial intelligence, faced a backlash for generating images and responses that raised ethical concerns. Gemini was criticized for biases, like reluctance to generate images of white people and providing controversial answers. This incident sparked debates on guiding AI with social values and challenges companies face in ensuring unbiased AI models.
Challenges in AI Development
Google's efforts to combat bias in AI led to unintended consequences in Gemini, causing it to overcorrect and generate problematic content. Techniques like prompt transformation aimed to reduce bias, but resulted in undesirable outcomes. Balancing the values embedded in AI models, user preferences, and societal expectations presents complex challenges for tech companies aiming for ethical AI development.
When Google released Gemini, a new chatbot powered by artificial intelligence, it quickly faced a backlash — and unleashed a fierce debate about whether A.I. should be guided by social values, and if so, whose values they should be.
Kevin Roose, a technology columnist for The Times and co-host of the podcast “Hard Fork,” explains.
Guest: Kevin Roose, a technology columnist for The New York Times and co-host of the podcast “Hard Fork.”
For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.
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