It’s not just generative AI that confidently makes something seem real when it’s not real. Microsoft’s search engine Bing told some users yesterday that there is no country called Australia, joining the ranks of a joking conspiracy theory that has been circulating online since 2017.Bing vs Bing
Australian users of Bluesky and Mastodon were surprised yesterday to see Bing informing them that the country they were in didn’t actually exist. Because Microsoft’s search engine responded with a definitive “No” to the unusual query about the world’s sixth largest country.
The conspiracy theory that Australia doesn’t exist reportedly traces back to a user on the Flat Earth Community forum who said everything about the country was fake, pictures were fake, and anyone claiming to be Australian was actually an undercover government agent. Similar discourses have been seen in various conspiracy theories since 2017.We’re used to seeing these kinds of factual and downright outlandish statements made by productive AIs. But what’s surprising is that Bing Copilot (formerly Bing Chat), Bing’s AI-powered chatbot, is confirming that Australia is real. Bing’s AI also says that there are conspiracy theories about the country’s existence, but they are untrue and have been completely debunked. Finally, according to the statement made by a Microsoft spokesperson, a fix has already been made for the relevant problem.
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