Google’s latest attempt to bring generative AI into everyday life hasn’t gone as planned. The company’s new Gemini for Home feature, which began rolling out in the US last week, promises smart daily summaries and conversational home insights. In fact, we have already shown how artificial intelligence can get lost along the way.
Gemini for Home is bundled with Google’s paid Home subscription. For $20 a month, you get 60 days of video history and AI-powered summaries. It also starts at $10 for basic content without any AI bells and whistles.
The most expensive plans include Ask Home, a chatbot that lets you ask anything going on around your home. You’ll know when a package will arrive, who’s home, or even if a “deer” shows up in your living room.
Yes, you read that correctly. It’s not a typo. Ars Technica’s Ryan Whitwam caught a Gemini reporting a deer in the family room, but it was actually one of his dogs. She also received a notification that a “person” had been seen wandering around her house, even though no one was actually there.
Google admits that its AI can jump to incorrect conclusions if it doesn’t have enough data, but promises that as people report these mistakes, the AI will improve and become better.
Gemini for Home offers a glimpse of what AI in the home will eventually be able to do, but these hallucinations prove we’re not there yet. Of course, as Google acquires more data, it will be able to improve its model, but for now, caution is advised. All is not as it seems.
