Lucie

French AI Chatbot Pulled Offline After Embarrassing Errors Spark Ridicule

A French-language AI chatbot named Lucie, supported by the French government, was taken offline following widespread criticism over inaccurate and bizarre responses. The chatbot, designed to promote the French language in artificial intelligence, faced backlash after making errors such as calling cow’s eggs edible and miscalculating basic equations.

Lucie, developed by a consortium including the Linagora Group, was described as an “academic research project in its early stages.” In a statement on Saturday, Linagora admitted the launch was premature, acknowledging they had underestimated the model’s limitations. “We were carried away by our own enthusiasm,” the company said, committing to refining the chatbot before a future public release.

Among the mistakes shared online, Lucie responded to a query about cow’s eggs by stating they were “edible eggs produced by cows,” confusing them with chicken eggs. When asked to solve 5 x (3+2), Lucie provided an answer of 17 instead of the correct 25. The bot also claimed that “the square root of a goat is one.”

Named after the oldest known human ancestor, Lucie was intended to challenge the dominance of English-based AI models, such as ChatGPT. Its logo combines French national symbolism with inspiration from Scarlett Johansson’s character in the film Lucy.

The project, backed by President Emmanuel Macron under the €54 billion ($56.8 billion) France 2030 investment program, was envisioned as a sovereign French alternative in the AI space. However, the mishap has cast doubt on its readiness.

Michel-Marie Maudet, general director of Linagora, announced plans to privately test an updated beta version before attempting another public rollout.

The controversy emerges as Macron prepares to host the Artificial Intelligence Action Summit in Paris from February 10-11, an event bringing together global leaders and technology experts to discuss the future of AI.

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