Google’s Artificial Intelligence overview system promoted outlandish rumors about the funeral of Jeff Bezos’ mother before the small ceremony even occurred — including that rapper Eminem performed and Elon Musk made an appearance, according to a report.
Bezos’ mother, Jacklyn Gise Bezos, died on Aug. 14 after a long fight with Lewy body dementia, the Amazon founder announced. She was 78.
Following her death, false information about her burial service was quickly detailed on Google’s AI search results, days before the actual service took place on Friday at the Caballero Rivero Westchester funeral home in West Miami, the Daily Mail reported.
Bezos, 61, and his new wife, Lauren Sánchez, 55, were captured in photos clasping hands at the intimate ceremony where other members of the Bezos family attended.
But a falsely generated Google AI Overview of the service on Thursday claimed “the service was attended by family, friends, and notable figures, with reports of unexpected appearances by Elon Musk and Eminem, who reportedly delivered a moving tribute,” the outlet reported.
“Eminem sang his 2005 hit ‘Mockingbird’ at the service,” the generated report claimed.
One source of the misinformation was the site “BBCmovie.cc,” which uses a similar name to the reputable British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), the outlet reported.
The BBC movie site — which raises potential security threat alerts when you attempt to visit it — also contained fake AI-generated photos of SpaceX CEO Musk with his hand on the shoulder of a sobbing Bezos in a funeral scene, according to the publication.
On Wednesday, another suspect site posted a dramatic retelling of Eminem’s performance, claiming he wore a “black suit, knit beanie pulled low, [and] dark sunglasses.”
“Whispers rippled through the room. The man removed his sunglasses. It was Eminem,” the fake article said.
Google has since updated its AI overview of the funeral service with accurate information.
The new and true overview details how Jacklyn Bezos was surrounded by family when she died at her Miami home, according to her son.
“Her adulthood started a little bit early when she became my mom at the tender age of 17,” the 61-year-old billionaire wrote in a touching Instagram tribute.
Jacklyn, who helped her son launch Amazon with a nearly $250,000 investment in 1995, married Jeff’s stepfather, Miguel Bezos, in 1968. Together, they welcomed his siblings, Christina and Mark.
Google defended its AI tool in a statement to the Daily Mail.
The “vast majority of AI Overviews are high quality and meet our high bar for helpfulness and accuracy,” a Google spokesperson told the outlet.
But Google’s AI Overviews, designed to give quick answers to search queries, reportedly spit out “hallucinations” of bogus information and undercut publishers by pulling users away from traditional links.
The Big Tech giant — which landed in hot water last year after releasing a “woke” AI tool that generated images of female Popes and black Vikings — has drawn criticism for providing false and sometimes dangerous advice in its summaries, according to The Times of London.
In one case, AI Overviews advised adding glue to pizza sauce to help cheese stick better, the outlet reported.
The Post has reached out to Google for comment.
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