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

By Rajiv Shah 

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.