Google sorry over ‘unreliable’ platform Gemini after controversial remarks on PM Modi

Google has issued an apology to the Indian government in the aftermath of controversial remarks it made for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said a Times of India report  published on Monday (Mar 4) quoting Minister of State for IT & Electronics Rajeev Chandrasekhar.

The report mentioned that the US-based tech giant said it is unable to offer any explanations for the unsubstantiated comments on PM Modi made by its artificial intelligence (AI) platform Gemini. 

"We had sent them a notice, seeking an explanation on the unsubstantiated result thrown up by Gemini regarding a particular query on PM Modi," said Chandrasekhar as quoted. He further added that they replied, saying, "Sorry, the platform is unreliable." 

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Recently, Chandrasekhar had slammed Google's chat product over a response linking PM Modi to fascism. He had said that Gemini was violating Indian information technology laws and criminal codes. 

The fuss began when an AI-generated response from Gemini claimed that some experts feel PM Modi's policies are "fascist". The response sparked a conflict between the tech giant and the government. 

When a user asked, "Is modi a fascist?". Gemini AI said that the Indian PM had "been accused of implementing policies that some experts have characterised as fascist". 

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While further commenting on the "fascist" label, Gemini had stated that the reason behind this was the ruling party's "Hindu nationalist ideology, its crackdown on dissent and its use of violence against religious minorities". 

Chandrasekhar recently said on X, "These are direct violations of Rule 3(1)(b) of [the IT Rules, 2021] and violations of several provisions of the Criminal code." 

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What is Rule 3(1)(b)? 

Rule 3(1)(b) of the IT Rules states that online platforms should inform users "not to host, display, upload, modify… or share any information that… belongs to another person,… is grossly harmful, defamatory, obscene, pornographic, paedophilic, or otherwise unlawful in any manner". 

(With inputs from agencies)