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Google's AI Overviews Persist in Fabricating Explanations for Made-Up Idioms

Despite efforts to curb inaccuracies, Google's AI feature continues to generate plausible but false interpretations, raising concerns as the tool expands into technical and medical domains.

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Google’s Gemini was unable to identify when it was being asked about nonsense sayings, returning equally nonsensical responses
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Overview

  • Google's AI Overviews feature has been shown to confidently explain entirely fictional idioms, such as 'You can't lick a badger twice,' as if they were real.
  • The AI fabricates plausible-sounding meanings for nonsensical phrases, reflecting a broader issue of 'hallucinations' in generative AI systems like Gemini.
  • Google has acknowledged the problem, describing some outputs as 'odd, inaccurate or unhelpful,' and has implemented measures to block responses to nonsensical queries.
  • Despite these issues, Google plans to expand AI Overviews to handle complex queries, including coding, advanced math, and even medical advice, sparking concerns about reliability.
  • Critics warn that such inaccuracies undermine trust in search engines and make fact-checking and source verification significantly more difficult for users.