Google Pulls Gemma AI After Defamation Claims by Senator Blackburn
Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) recently sent a pointed letter to Google CEO Sundar Pichai, accusing the company of defaming her with false information generated by its Gemma AI. Following Blackburn’s claims that the AI allegedly made sexual assault accusations against her, Google decided to remove the Gemma AI model from its AI Studio platform. Blackburn described the situation as a significant failure in oversight and ethical responsibility.
After Blackburn’s letter was sent, Google announced the removal of Gemma amid her claims. The senator highlighted an instance where, when asked about past accusations against her, the AI made false assertions related to her 1987 state Senate campaign, which she clarified actually took place in 1998. Additionally, Blackburn pointed out that the sources Gemma cited to back up these allegations led to incorrect pages and irrelevant articles.
In the letter, Blackburn also referred to a recent Senate Commerce hearing concerning a lawsuit from conservative activist Robbie Starbuck. Starbuck alleges that Google’s AI models have made derogatory remarks about him, including labeling him a “child rapist.” During the hearing, Google’s vice president of government affairs, Markham Erickson, acknowledged that such inaccuracies—often referred to as “hallucinations”—are an issue the company is actively trying to rectify.
However, Blackburn stressed that what Gemma produced wasn’t merely a harmless error but rather an act of defamation by a product of Google. She also noted a broader pattern of bias exhibited by Google’s AI systems toward conservative individuals, paralleling concerns raised by supporters of former President Donald Trump about perceived left-leaning biases in popular chatbots.
In response to the ongoing situation, Google announced on X that Gemma had been removed from the AI Studio. The company clarified that Gemma was never meant to serve as a consumer tool or to provide factual answers. While no longer part of AI Studio, the model will still be accessible through the API.
