Google’s latest attempt to bring generative AI into everyday life isn’t going quite as planned. Their new Gemini for Home feature, which started rolling out in the US last week, promises smart daily summaries and conversational home insights. In reality, it’s already showing how artificial intelligence can sometimes get lost along the way.
Gemini for Home comes bundled in Google’s paid Home subscription. It starts at $20 a month for 60 days of video history plus AI-powered summaries, or $10 for the basic stuff with no AI bells and whistles.
The priciest plan throws in Ask Home, a chatbot that lets you ask about anything happening around the house. It can tell you when packages arrive, who came home, or sometimes, when a “deer” shows up in your living room.
Yes, you read that right – it’s not a typo. Ryan Whitwam from Ars Technica caught Gemini reporting a deer in the family room, when it was actually just one of his dogs. He’s also received notifications about a “person” being seen roaming around the house, when in reality there was no one there.
Google admits that AI can jump to the wrong conclusions when it doesn’t have enough data info but promises it will improve and get better as people flag these mistakes.
Gemini for Home gives us a glimpse at what AI in the home could eventually do, but these hallucinations prove we’re not there just yet. Of course, as Google gets more data, it’ll be able to refine the model, but be wary for now – all is not as it seems.
