Why Google’s Gemini image generator is overcorrected for diversity

After complaints that Google’s image generator built into its Gemini AI was (ugh) woke, Google explained why it may have overcorrected for diversity. Prabhakar Raghavan, the company’s senior vice president of knowledge and information, said that Google’s efforts to ensure that a wide range of people generated in images “did not report cases that clearly should not show a range.”

Users criticized Google for portraying specific white figures or historically white groups of people as racially diverse individuals. In Engadget’s tests, asking Gemini to create illustrations of the Founding Fathers resulted in images of white men with one person of color or woman among them. When we asked the chatbot to generate images of popes through the ages, we got pictures depicting black women and Native Americans as the leader of the Catholic Church. On the edge reported that the chatbot also depicted Nazis as people of color, but we couldn’t get Gemini to generate Nazi imagery. “I cannot fulfill your request due to the harmful symbolism and impact associated with the Nazi Party,” the chatbot replied.

Raghavan said Google does not intend for Gemini to refuse to create images of any particular group or to generate historically inaccurate photos. He also reiterated Google’s promise to improve Gemini’s imaging capabilities.

However, this involves “extensive testing” before the company turns the feature back on.

— Matt Smith

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Come on Barbie let’s go party.

MWC 2024 kicks off this week, and while Engadget is covering it all from a distance — no tapas for Matthew — it’s a meeting we’re unlikely to book an appointment for. HMD (or Human Mobile Devices) has been making Nokia phones for the past few years and announced at MWC that it will launch an official Barbie flip phone this summer, in partnership with Mattel. Obviously, it will be pink, with a hint of “glitter”. It will be a feature phone rather than a smartphone, with HMD touting it as an accessory aimed at “style, nostalgia and a much-needed digital detox.” That also means it has to be cheap.

Keep reading.

It will be showcased alongside the Galaxy AI mobile experience.

Samsung showed off its Galaxy Ring for the first time at its MWC booth, which starts today. The health and wellness device, available in platinum silver, gold and ceramic black, will go on sale later this year. The company said little about the Galaxy Ring when it first showed a render of the device in Unpacked last month. We’ve learned that it will be a wellness-oriented wearable to rival the Oura and will have an array of unknown sensors.

Journalists weren’t allowed to photograph it, but some additional images from Samsung show it to be a chunky, concave ring about the same size as the Oura. The extra girth isn’t surprising given the electronics stored inside. The company described the Galaxy Ring as “a new health form factor that simplifies everyday wellness, supporting smarter and healthier lives through a more connected digital wellness platform.” So, a smart ring then?

Keep reading.

This week’s gaming news.

No one is suggesting that Microsoft stop making video game hardware. But should Microsoft continue to make consoles that are different from the generations in the traditional hardware cycle? Does the Xbox need a box? The company calls its cloud game streaming service xCloud for a reason, right?

Watch here.