Tech

Google’s AI search helper isn’t, well, helping

Take the wisdom Google’s generative AI has bestowed upon us and eat some rocks. Yes, it said that. In an attempt to catch up to OpenAI and Microsoft’s artificial intelligence breakthroughs, Google unveiled a generative AI embedded into its search engine earlier this month. It hasn’t been going well.

The new AI, which is supposed to “do the Googling for you,” has, to put it mildly, underperformed. From telling blatantly false information to rather funny fibs, Google’s newest artificial intelligence feature has certainly had its issues:

• It claimed no country in Africa starts with the letter K (sorry Kenya).

• It said that former US President James Madison graduated from the University of Wisconsin not once but 21 times.

• The AI suggested adding glue to your pizza if it isn’t sticking properly. Users found the source to be a decade old Reddit comment.

• It told one user one way to deal with depression is by “jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge,” again citing a Reddit post.

• Another time it claimed that pythons are mammals.

I could keep going for the rest of the article, but you get the point. Google has faced enormous backlash for the issues brought forward by the new technology, and with over 2 trillion searches annually, they should probably figure something out quickly.

Why is this happening?

A Google spokesperson said the errors were happening for “generally very uncommon queries and aren’t representative of most people’s experiences,” but considering almost all Google searches are made up of a long tail of uncommon questions, thats a pitiful excuse for the world’s most popular search engine.

According to Ars Technica’s examination of the AI, the issues stem from it using unreliable information, misunderstanding questions, mistaking those who share the same name, and committing errors in its math calculations.

AI has been a struggle for Google: The botched AI search helper follows the tech giant’s rollout of Gemini’s image generator in February, which was criticized heavily when users discovered historical inaccuracies and questionable responses to prompts. The feature was subsequently “paused” and has not been re-released since.

Will this be a second OceanGate?

Well, if there’s anything we know about billionaires it’s that they don’t learn from their mistakes. Larry Connor, a property development mogul, intends to descend to the depths of the Titanic using a specially designed submarine created by Triton Submarines.

But why?

Connor wants to showcase that exploring the deep sea doesn’t have to be a harrowing experience and can be done safely, “if you go about it in the right way.” He has been to the Mariana Trench and the International Space Station, but wants to visit the Titanic in particular.

Connor voiced his eagerness to Lahey shortly after the OceanGate implosion, saying he was upset over the world’s new, disparaging perception of submersibles, and he wanted Lahey to build one that was safe and effective.

Luckily, Lahey had already been working on such a craft for over two years, ready to show the world that such oceanic feats are possible (without implosion). Too soon?

No one wants an OceanGate 2.0

Lahey openly expressed his disapproval of OceanGate's use of tentative submersible technology to the WSJ, and even accused its deceased CEO, Stockton Rush, of making "predatory promises” to passengers.

While Triton and its overseas rival, U-Boat Worx, saw a decrease in demand following the OceanGate incident, both note that their submersibles are certified and regulated by third-party safety agencies, in stark contrast to OceanGate’s.

If you’ve got some spare time (and a little money) you could go diving in the same craft for just $20,000,000! Not too shabby.

Auto

Toyota is banking on alternative fuel engines — not EVs

This might just be an alternative to EVs in an increasingly energy conscious era. On Tuesday, Toyota, alongside Subaru and Mazda, said they’re progressing in their efforts to make more compact, efficient engines that can still comply with stringent emission laws.

The world’s largest carmaker revealed prototypes of internal combustion engines that would be capable of running on hydrogen, gasoline, and other fuels, as they look for alternative options to lessen carbon emissions (that non-EV people can still vouch for).

A new age

These prototypes would still be compatible with the electric motors, and is in line with the company’s “multi-pathway” model that strays away from EVs and predominantly focuses on hybrids. Although such an approach was heavily criticized at first, it certainly worked well for the first three months of the year.

• Toyota became the first Japanese company to reach an operational profit of $32 billion, or 5 trillion yen, showing the success they had in the fiscal year that ended in March.

• 3.59 million hybrids were sold, a 32% rise from the year before.

The clock is ticking: Although there was no explicit timeline concerning the availability of the new engines, time is running out.

• New vehicle emission regulations, which apply to automobiles and trucks built between 2027 and 2032, were recently announced by the EPA.

• EU legislators are working to outlaw the sale of vehicles that emit greenhouse gases starting in 2035.

If Toyota wants to get these engines in production and up and running, it’ll have to do so in a timely manner or else they could face some dire consequences.

Grab Bag

The future of self-driving cars is looking bleak

You better hope you don’t run into one of these on the road. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) opened an investigation into all three major autonomous vehicle companies, after a series of accidents which involved the driverless cars.

What did they do wrong?

Earlier this month, regulators opened a probe into Waymo, Alphabet’s autonomous vehicle company, when they were linked to over 31 accidents that involved cars driving into lanes with oncoming traffic, crashing into parked vehicles, or hitting stationary objects.

A few days later, after one of Cruise's self-driving vehicles hit and dragged a man over 20 feet, a storm of federal investigations fell upon the GM-owned company. Subsequently, it removed all of its autonomous vehicles from service as a result of the horrific event.

The NHTSA is also investigating Amazon over two of its Zoox driverless cars getting rear-ended after suddenly braking.

• Zoox is already testing cars without steering wheels or brakes for passengers.

Just a minor roadblock

Despite the series of crashes and other incidents, autonomous vehicle companies are pushing ahead, even as Americans have grown increasingly anxious about getting in a car without a driver.

• GM’s Cruise started operating on roads in Phoenix this month, despite the investigation still being open.

• According to the Autonomous Vehicle Industry Association, dozens of companies are testing self-driving vehicles in at least 10 states.

  • Most of the testing is done on the west coast, 40 companies have permits to test autonomous vehicles in California alone, per the WP.

• Waymo is working with the NHTSA and has been operating its robotaxi services in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Phoenix.

  • The company said its driverless vehicles are making 50,000 trips a week and have a strong safety record.

While the NHTSA is investigating the companies, it’s really more akin to bird watching. Safety regulators occasionally sit in on drives, but most of the work being done is simply waiting and logging incidents, if they happen.

Labor unions, concerned citizens, and policy makers have all been outspoken in asking the agency to be more proactive, rather than just waiting until another accident happens. The NHTSA is under mounting pressure, and with rising incidents, they may just be waiting for the bomb to go off.

Not a fan of the cicada wave? Just eat them

A little bird told me cicadas are the insect equivalent to lobster. Just saying. As trillions of the noisy buggers emerge in parts of the US, it’s made some annoyed, others creeped out, and a small portion hungry. Different strokes I guess.

While most Americans don’t have room for bugs on their palate, a small brewery outside Chicago has them as their newest menu item in celebration of their arrival. More likely than not, they won’t be the only ones.

Are they even safe to eat?

According to experts, they are. Cicadas are consumed around the world as a tasty snack and have a texture “like lobster or shrimp.” And, just like a little birdie told me, cicadas are so closely related to lobster that the FDA has said to avoid them if you have a shellfish allergy. So you’re good to go unless you can’t handle a little fish (or insect, I guess).

A few tips before you meal prep for next week:

• Culinary experts say they’re best tempura fried.

• You’ll want them molted and out of their shell, but still young and juicy to enjoy them best.

• Make sure they’ve been harvested from pesticide-free areas to avoid consuming harmful chemicals, and then properly prepared.

• Cicadas are generally not toxic to dogs, so feel free to give them a taste.

They might just be the newest superfood… Cicadas also have more protein and less fat than pork or eggs. Plus they are rich in B vitamins and minerals such as iron, niacin, zinc and magnesium.

Fun fact: In the last couple years, investors have thrown over $90 million into insect-based food companies, according to data from PitchBook.

Fast Facts

Glizzy Gobblers: Americans usually eat around 7 billion hot dogs between Memorial Day and Labor Day. That’s 818 hot dogs per second, according to the National Hot Dog & Sausage Council.

Sketchy Seller: The FBI is investigating missing pieces from the British Museum’s collection that American buyers purchased on eBay.

Cringe Conference: Canva, a graphic design company, hosted a stage performance that had X users asking if it was an episode of Silicon Valley.

Profane Pope Francis: Pope Francis apologized after he used a homophobic slur during a private meeting, Italian media reported.

Urgent Emergency: The government of Papua New Guinea estimates that 2,000 people were buried in a landslide last Friday and requested international help.