Google (GOOG) removed its open-source AI model Gemma from its public AI Studio after U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn accused it of inventing false allegations of sexual assault against her.
Blackburn said the model produced fabricated claims and fake news links when asked whether she had ever been accused of rape.
In a letter to CEO Sundar Pichai, she argued the incident reflected political bias and warned that AI-generated defamation poses serious ethical and oversight failures.
Google acknowledged hallucination risks in smaller developer-focused models like Gemma, stating it was never designed for factual queries or general consumer use. The company said non-developers had been testing the tool improperly on the platform.
Gemma remains accessible through Google's API for research and development, but no longer appears on AI Studio as the company works to curb misuse and improve accuracy.
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Business News
May 15, 2026 15:25 ET Apart from the confirmation of Kevin Warsh as the next Fed chair, the main news on the economics front this week included key price data from the U.S. and the first quarter economic growth figures from major economies. Both consumer prices and producer costs have started to reflect the effect of supply shocks due to the Middle East conflict. In Europe, GDP data was in focus, while inflation data from China dominated the news flow in Asia.