Googles AI Overviews in Hindi Require Significant Enhancements

Google’s recent attempt to integrate Hindi into its AI overviews has revealed significant shortcomings.

While the endeavor shows promise, the current state of translations and answer reliability is inconsistent at best.

Inconsistent Responses

Google’s AI frequently fails to provide straightforward answers when the wording of a query changes slightly.

For example, altering the order of words in a simple question about substituting sugar in tea resulted in no answer.

This inconsistency demonstrates a need for better contextual understanding by the AI.

Literal Translations

Quirky and sometimes misleading translations are another issue. Asking about suitable foods for summer in Hindi resulted in the phrase ‘sticky things,’ which should have been ‘oily foods.’

Such inaccuracies can cause confusion and reduce the utility of the feature.

Switching to English provided the correct and more meaningful answer, highlighting disparities between languages.

Incorrect Information

Some translations provide outright incorrect information.

For instance, when inquiring about YouTube’s ownership, the Hindi translation falsely claimed an individual was the CEO until a past date.

In contrast, the English version correctly stated the person’s current status. This discrepancy highlights the need for fact-checking.

Qualitative Shortcomings

When asking simple questions like ‘When is Diwali this year?’, responses often include unnecessary information like past dates and irrelevant links.

This dilutes the usefulness of the AI tool, making it cumbersome for users to find direct answers.

Sensitive Topics

More concerning are inaccuracies in sensitive topics such as pregnancy and menstruation.

One response suggested waiting two years after marriage before having kids but did not explain why.

This suggests that the AI is pulling from unreliable sources without context.

Contextual Errors

The AI often misses critical context. For instance, when asking about food places in Delhi, it recommended visiting a place of worship without mentioning that food is available outside, not inside, the temple.

Missing such details can lead to misunderstandings and misinformation.

Comparative Quality

It appears that the quality of AI responses in English is generally superior to those in Hindi.

This could be due to the availability of better resources in English, but it also highlights the shortcomings of Google’s algorithm in accurately pulling information.

Algorithmic Challenges

Google attributes some of the issues to poor quality sources. However, it’s the company’s algorithm that decides which sources to summarize.

Therefore, Google has a responsibility to refine its AI to ensure it provides reliable and accurate information.

Google’s effort to support Hindi in its AI overviews is commendable but flawed.

For the feature to be genuinely useful, significant improvements in translation accuracy and contextual understanding are essential.

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Emmanuel Kesse

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