Criticism Intensifies Over AI Errors... Growing Calls for Google CEO to 'Step Down'

Business Insider Reports in the US
"Raises Questions About Management"

Recently, due to errors in the image generation feature of Google's artificial intelligence (AI) model Gemini, calls for the resignation of the CEO have been growing, reported the US economic media outlet Business Insider on the 2nd local time.

Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google. Photo by AP Yonhap

This incident has deepened the perception that Google is falling behind in the AI race, and the responsibility is seemingly reaching CEO Sundar Pichai.

Google suspended the image generation service of its latest AI model Gemini on the 22nd of last month, just about 20 days after the feature was introduced.

Errors were found such as depicting historical figures like the Founding Fathers of the United States and Einstein as people of color, and generating German Nazi soldiers as Asians. This recalled the incorrect outputs from Bard, Gemini's predecessor, during a demonstration in February last year, which led to Alphabet's stock price dropping by 4.5%.

As criticism intensified, CEO Pichai stated, "(The errors are) completely unacceptable and our fault," adding, "We know that it upset users and showed bias. We are working around the clock to resolve this issue." Ben Thompson, author of the tech newsletter Stratechery, wrote that this "requires a transformation meaning removing those responsible for creating this situation, including CEO Pichai."

Mark Shmulik, an internet analyst at Bernstein, also addressed whether it is time for changes in Google's top management in a research note released this week. He pointed out, "The recent incident only raises further doubts about whether this management team is suitable to lead Google into the next era."

Osman Laraki, an early Google developer and CEO of Color Health, said, "Google is facing problems it cannot solve," and Marissa Mayer, former Google vice president, also criticized, saying, "Google needs to focus on innovation and adopt the mindset of a challenger rather than a market leader."