Google has removed its Gemma AI models from the AI Studio platform following a complaint from GOP Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), who claims the model generated false accusations of sexual misconduct against her. The decision to pull Gemma, which was previously available in the AI Studio, coincided with Blackburn’s public letter to Google CEO Sundar Pichai, which was released just hours before the company announced the change. The letter tied the situation to congressional hearings that accuse tech companies of creating AI bots that defame conservatives. In response, Google representative Markham Erickson explained that AI hallucinations are a known issue across the industry, and the company strives to mitigate these errors. However, the incident has sparked renewed concerns about the ethical implications of AI systems and the potential for such models to generate misleading or defamatory content.
Blackburn’s letter to Sundar Pichai outlines her concern that Gemma generated false claims about her during the ongoing hearings that critique AI corporations for creating bots that defame conservatives. She asserts that she became aware of these false accusations only after the hearing, which has raised questions about how AI models can produce such damaging misinformation. When asked about the allegation,