Google’s Gemini AI chatbot has temporarily suspended its ability to generate images of people. This decision comes after receiving criticism for the AI’s tendency to produce images with darker skin tones, particularly in historical contexts.

Initially, Google acknowledged the issue and promised to address it through a social media post. However, as the situation escalated, Gemini’s website has now completely shut down this particular feature temporarily.

In response to the suspension, when prompted to generate images including people, the chatbot displays a placeholder message that reads: “We are working to improve Gemini’s ability to generate images of people. We expect this feature to return soon and will notify you in release updates when it does.” Google has also shared this message on social media, assuring users that an improved version will be released soon.

The current error message displayed by Gemini when trying to generate an image that includes a human is indicative of the temporary suspension of this feature.

It’s important to note that the challenge of achieving diverse results within AI image generation is not unique to Gemini. Other existing AI models also grapple with this issue, and Google’s efforts may have inadvertently exacerbated it. While well-intentioned, the results misrepresented history, which is concerning given that these tools are widely used for research purposes.

As we await further updates from Google on this issue through their Gemini release updates hub, users in need of AI-generated images involving humans may have to seek alternative platforms for the time being.