Emmanuel Macron has backed an artificial intelligence chatbot that is now telling people to eat cow’s eggs.
The AI chatbot named Lucie has now been taken offline after a series of bizarre answers to simple mathematical calculations.
Lucie was quoted as replying: “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.”
The model comically claimed that “the square root of a goat is one”, and when asked to multiply 5 by (3+2), the model gave an answer of 17, instead of 25, users reported.
In a statement, the Linagora Group, part of the consortium developing Lucie, admitted that the chatbot was released “prematurely,” adding that it should have been clearer in informing users of the limitations of the model in its current form.
“We were carried away by our own enthusiasm,” the statement reads.
The Linagora Group said Lucie remains an “academic research project in its early stages.”
General Director Michel-Marie Maudet announced plans to update the model and conduct private beta testing before any public relaunch.
Lucie has faced widespread criticism and mockery online after it was launched on Thursday January 23.
The timing is particularly damning for President Macron as he is preparing to host the Artificial Intelligence Action Summit in Paris from February 10-11. In addition to discussions around public interest, the focus will be on innovation and how to attract talent to Europe, Macron said.
The chatbot’s failures could potentially impact France’s positioning as a leader in AI development.
Luice is part of President Emmanuel Macron’s France 2030 investment program, which has allocated £45 billion.
Launched with ambitions of challenging the dominance of the English language in AI and providing an alternative to models such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Lucie is named after the oldest human ancestor, said Linagora.