Google powered AI refuses to correct a 'balanced' piece on Trump sending chained immigrants to India!

This is a continuation of my blog on how, while the start-up-developed AI app DeepSeek is being criticized for consistently rejecting content related to China or Maoism, there appears to be no mention in Western media about why another app, developed by the powerful Google, Gemini, remains silent on Indian political issues.

However, interestingly, I recently received an article from one NS Venkataraman, whose designation states that he is a trustee of the Nandini Voice for the Deprived in Chennai. The article was meant for Counterview.in, an open forum for news and views that I currently manage (though I am unsure how long I will continue to do so, as I want to focus on writing my own material). I decided to ask AI to review the article for grammatical errors, if any.

Venkataraman, a right-of-the-centre individual who is quite pro-Narendra Modi, often contributes to the site, which is an open platform allowing perspectives from individuals with opposing ideologies. His latest piece, while criticizing the Trump administration for deporting Indian nationals in chains, seemed to take a "balanced" view of the Indian government's refusal to condemn the inhumane manner in which the immigrants were sent back via a military plane. It even questions why anyone would want to go to the US at all.

Though usually well-written, the article had minor issues, such as leaving spaces before commas and full stops. I decided to ask AI to make the necessary grammatical corrections without verifying the accuracy of the content. First, I tried using Gemini, but ironically, it refused to assist within two seconds. Here is its response, verbatim:

"I can't help with that right now. I'm trained to be as accurate as possible, but I can make mistakes sometimes. While I work on perfecting how I can discuss elections and politics, you can try Google Search."

Next, I turned to the most well-known AI platform, ChatGPT, which promptly completed the task. I published the article (click here to read), after making a few additional structural changes. However, before finalizing it, I sought Gemini's help to change the title's uppercase formatting—"HANDCUFFED DEPORTEES - IS TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ARROGANT, INHUMAN, AND UNCIVILISED?"—to sentence case. Strangely, I received the same response: "I can't help with that right now..."

This leaves me wondering: Is Trump such a taboo topic for Gemini? Or is Google afraid of retaliation in a country that claims to be a champion of free speech worldwide? I don’t have the answer.

Comments

Kip Dare said…

thanks for sharing

March 11, 2025 at 9:10 AM

Dalit rights and political tensions: Why is Mevani at odds with Congress leadership?

While I have known Jignesh Mevani, one of the dozen-odd Congress MLAs from Gujarat, ever since my Gandhinagar days—when he was a young activist aligned with well-known human rights lawyer Mukul Sinha’s organisation, Jan Sangharsh Manch—he became famous following the July 2016 Una Dalit atrocity, in which seven members of a family were brutally assaulted by self-proclaimed cow vigilantes while skinning a dead cow, a traditional occupation among Dalits.

Powering pollution, heating homes: Why are Delhi residents opposing incineration-based waste management

While going through the 50-odd-page report Burning Waste, Warming Cities? Waste-to-Energy (WTE) Incineration and Urban Heat in Delhi , authored by Chythenyen Devika Kulasekaran of the well-known advocacy group Centre for Financial Accountability, I came across a reference to Sukhdev Vihar — a place where I lived for almost a decade before moving to Moscow in 1986 as the foreign correspondent of the daily Patriot and weekly Link .

Boeing 787 under scrutiny again after Ahmedabad crash: Whistleblower warnings resurface

A heart-wrenching tragedy has taken place in Ahmedabad. As widely reported, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner plane crashed shortly after taking off from the city’s airport, currently operated by India’s top tycoon, Gautam Adani. The aircraft was carrying 230 passengers and 12 crew members. As expected, the crash has led to an outpouring of grief across the country. At the same time, there have been demands for the resignation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and the Civil Aviation Minister.

Global NGO slams India for media clampdown during conflict, downplays Pakistan

A global civil rights group, Civicus has taken strong exception to how critical commentaries during the “recent conflict” with Pakistan were censored in India, with journalists getting “targeted”. I have no quarrel with the Civicus view, as the facts mentioned in it are all true.

Whither SCOPE? Twelve years on, Gujarat’s official English remains frozen in time

While writing my previous blog on how and why Narendra Modi went out of his way to promote English when he was Gujarat chief minister — despite opposition from people in the Sangh Parivar — I came across an interesting write-up by Aakar Patel, a well-known name among journalists and civil society circles.

Remembering Vijay Rupani: A quiet BJP leader who listened beyond party lines

Late evening on June 12, a senior sociologist of Indian origin, who lives in Vienna, asked me a pointed question: Of the 241 persons who died as a result of the devastating plane crash in Ahmedabad the other day, did I know anyone? I had no hesitation in telling her: former Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani, whom I described to her as "one of the more sensible persons in the BJP leadership."

Why India’s renewable energy sector struggles under 2,735 compliance hurdles

Recently, during a conversation with an industry representative, I was told how easy it is to set up a startup in Singapore compared to India. This gentleman, who had recently visited Singapore, explained that one of the key reasons Indians living in the Southeast Asian nation prefer establishing startups there is because the government is “extremely supportive” when it comes to obtaining clearances. “They don’t want to shift operations to India due to the large number of bureaucratic hurdles,” he remarked.

Guha plans book to counter Dalit, Marxist, and right-wing critics of Gandhi, recalls Modi’s 'pernicious lie' on Patel

Let me first confess: writing about an event three weeks after it has taken place is no good, especially for a newsperson. However, ever since I attended the public lecture by well-known historian Ramachandra Guha on May 18, organised by Sarthak Prakashan for the release of the Gujarati edition of his book monumental book "India After Gandhi", frankly, I kept wondering if he had said anything newsworthy apart from what had already appeared in the media ever since the book's first edition came out in 2007. Call it my inertia or whatever.

A conman, a demolition man: How 'prominent' scribes are defending Pritish Nandy

How to defend Pritish Nandy? That’s the big question some of his so-called fans seem to ponder, especially amidst sharp criticism of his alleged insensitivity during his journalistic career. One such incident involved the theft and publication of the birth certificate of Masaba Gupta, daughter of actor Neena Gupta, in the Illustrated Weekly of India, which Nandy was editing at the time. He reportedly did this to uncover the identity of Masaba’s father.

Search This Blog