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Google has confirmed restrictions on its Gemini<\/a> chatbot in relation to responses to queries on crucial general elections to take place this year, including the race for the White House.<\/p>\n The Alphabet-owned company is taking steps to control the dissemination of misinformation (and to prevent it as much as possible) by limiting the output of its generative AI <\/a>assistant. Images, video, and audio have recently been created to maliciously impact the democratic process or for electioneering purposes.<\/p>\n Concerns around the spread of such content have led to governments sitting around the table<\/a>, often with the involvement of the big tech firms, to find solutions to the challenges and regulate the overall AI landscape.<\/p>\n For the upcoming US presidential election later this year, Google previously stated it would be taking action, and that has materialized. If you attempt to ask Gemini about the face-off between incumbent President Joe Biden and Donald Trump, it will respond with:<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m still learning how to answer this question. In the meantime, try Google Search\u201d.<\/p>\n A Google spokesperson was quoted by Reuters<\/a> on the motivation for limiting their chatbot service.<\/p>\n \u201cIn preparation for the many elections happening around the world in 2024 and out of an abundance of caution, we are restricting the types of election-related queries for which Gemini will return responses.\u201d<\/p>\n Crucial national polls are set to take place worldwide, in addition to the US.<\/p>\n The UK\u2019s general election will take place later in the year, with a date still not fixed, while important elections will take place in South Africa and India, the world\u2019s largest democracy.<\/p>\n In the case of the latter, tech companies have been prompted to secure government approval<\/a> before releasing AI software that is \u201cunreliable\u201d or still in development.<\/p>\n London Mayor Sadiq Khan blasted fake AI-powered audio<\/a>, which had the potential to incite trouble on the streets, while deepfake electioneering<\/a> saw the return of the feared dictator Suharto for the recent election in Indonesia, with a video address to the electorate.<\/p>\n Google\u2019s collective focus on this issue will have been sharpened recently after its CEO Sundar Pichai sent an internal memo to staff, stressing Gemini errors were \u201ccompletely unacceptable\u201d<\/a> after the artificial intelligence (AI)<\/a> app embroiled the company in controversy.<\/p>\n The tech giant suspended its image creation function on Gemini after it generated offensive and historically inaccurate results.<\/p>\nWhat other elections are taking place, and what has already happened?<\/h2>\n