Google Works to Fix AI Mode’s 2020 Election Answers

Google said it is working to fix an issue that led its AI Mode search feature to avoid directly naming Joe Biden as the winner of the 2020 U.S. presidential election, even as tests later found the tool sometimes answered correctly. When asked who won the election, AI Mode initially directed users to official records rather than naming Biden. The Federal Election Commission’s official results show Biden received 306 electoral votes and Donald Trump received 232. Google said a technical gap affected queries about the 2020 election and that it was also working to address similar behavior involving 2022 Senate races. The company said its systems check election answers against news articles or Associated Press data for recent contests and historical records for older ones. It also said the issue was not limited to one party. Google described the standalone Gemini app as answering the 2020 question more fully, but did not provide a detailed technical explanation for the products’ differing responses. Tests reported at different times produced varying results. In one test, AI Mode eventually identified Biden after initially directing the user to official sources. Another test found...