2 days ago
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New Delhi:
A French-language artificial intelligence chatbot has been taken down after users reported receiving nonsensical answers to simple mathematical equations, and bizarre recommendations. Lucie, the chatbot, backed by the French government, was launched on Thursday. It soon faced backlash due to its poor performance.
One user, who asked the chatbot to explain "cow's eggs," received the following response: "Cow's eggs, also known as chicken's eggs, are edible eggs produced by cows. Cow's eggs are a source of protein and nutrients, and are considered to be a healthy and nutritious food."
Lucie also miscalculated 5 x (3+2) as 17 instead of 25 and claimed "the square root of a goat is one," sparking further criticism.
The Linagora Group, part of the consortium developing Lucie, described the project as an "academic research initiative in its early stages." In a statement released Saturday, the company admitted that Lucie had been "prematurely" launched and acknowledged the need for better communication about its limitations.
"We were carried away by our own enthusiasm," the company said, as per CNN.
Linagora's general director Michel-Marie Maudet told CNN that the team would update the model and conduct private beta testing before attempting a public relaunch.
Lucie was envisioned as a challenger to OpenAI's ChatGPT, with the aim of promoting French innovation. Named after the oldest known human ancestor, Lucie's logo integrates French national colours and draws inspiration from Scarlett Johansson's character in the film Lucy.
"Lucie is covered by a blue, white, and red shawl, demonstrating her sovereign French personality," Linagora said earlier this month.
The project is part of President Emmanuel Macron's 54 billion Euros 2030 investment initiative, which supports technological and scientific advancements. Mr Macron is set to host the Artificial Intelligence Action Summit in Paris from February 10 to 11.
While Lucie struggles, China's DeepSeek has emerged as a force to reckon with in the global AI space. Developed by a Hangzhou-based lab in 2023, DeepSeek has surpassed ChatGPT and Gemini with its unmatched affordability, open-source model and unlimited free usage. Unlike competitors that rely on costly hardware like Nvidia's GPUs, DeepSeek achieves efficiency using lower-cost resources.
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