Google Gemini Faces New Restrictions for Answering Election 2024 Queries

Google Gemini is facing yet another restriction, this time its ability to answer election-related queries.

Google’s restrictions on Gemini user inputs about elections come after the tool generated inaccurate images of historical figures.

A blog post announced the news, confirming it will only occur in India ahead of the country’s general election taking place in the Spring.

Google said the decision was made out of caution on such an important topic. “We take our responsibility for providing high-quality information for these types of queries seriously, and are continuously working to improve our protections,” the blog post reads.

Gemini has already caused controversy related to elections in India. Social media users shared Gemini responses where it called some of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s policies “fascist.”

The Gemini outputs received negative feedback from the Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology of the country, who said that they violated the IT Act regulations regarding the spread of misinformation online. Non-compliance with the IT Act could result in "penal consequences," which may include legal prosecution for companies.

Shortly after the Gemini controversy, India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology announced plans that would see the Indian government approve an AI system before it goes public.

Related:‘We Definitely Messed Up’: Google Co-founder on Gemini Image Fails

That rule is not legally binding at present, but IT minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar said they signal plans for future regulation.

The Indian rules show similarities to the Biden administration's executive order, including the rules on checks before launch. India’s rules, however, focus more on government oversight and have more detailed inclusions of explicit labeling of AI systems.