Google’s AI may be less accurate after change to review process: Report

LAUREN TAYLOR: Behind the generative AI responses that Google gives users is an army of human employees and contractors who rate the accuracy of the responses the AI gives. But a new policy change is raising concerns that Google’s Gemini AI may become more prone to giving inaccurate answers.

It’s potentially a major concern, particularly as Gemini gives automated answers to searches related to healthcare.

The tech-focused news outlet TechCrunch reported Wednesday Google changed the rules for rating AI-generated responses for its contractors from the company GlobalLogic.

Previously, GlobalLogic contractors could skip giving an assessment of whether or not a response was accurate if they didn’t know much about the subject.

TechCrunch used the example that a contractor could skip giving a rating on a question about cardiology because the contractor had no medical or scientific background.

But now, Google will not allow the contractors to skip rating the prompts.

TechCrunch saw emails from concerned contractors, including one from a contractor who asked, “I thought the point of skipping was to increase accuracy by giving it to someone better?”

AI can occasionally engage in what’s known as “hallucination,” a catch-all term for inaccuracies it creates.

A few notable examples include a lawyer who was fired for using AI program ChatGPT to generate legal briefs, but the program cited court cases that did not exist.

And an early version of Google’s AI overview for searches answered questions about how to keep cheese from falling off pizza by recommending adding Elmer’s glue to the sauce.

A Google spokeswoman told TechCrunch that “Raters perform a wide range of tasks across many different Google products and platforms. They do not solely review answers for content, they also provide valuable feedback on style, format, and other factors. The ratings they provide do not directly impact our algorithms.”

For Straight Arrow News, I’m Lauren Taylor.

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