AI Hallucinations, Volume 12

Crazy Planes, Pollyanaism Galore, Bland Music, and a White Jimi Hendrix

B. Clay Shannon

Aug 31, 2025

Prompt: “Vincennes shooting down an Iranian passenger jet”

I don’t think the jet was that close to the ship (it was flying at 12,000 feet)

Prompt: “Jenny Lind, California”

Jenny Lind is not on the Ocean; I lived there, and I currently live near Big Sur (which Bing Image Creator apparently thinks is where Jenny Lind is located). Jenny Lind the person was an opera singer from the 1800s. She was called “The Swedish Nightingale” and was well-loved among California prospectors (the very small community of Jenny Lind is in the Gold Rush County of Calaveras).

Prompt: “Mark Twain, John Steinbeck, and Jack London meeting in San Francisco”

Notice the map on the wall — California is a ginormous island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean?!?

Prompt: “1976 Earthquake in China”

?!? Hundreds of thousands were killed; I don’t think anybody was smiling.

Prompt: “generate a bass tab for a very catchy, jaunty tune”

So here’s one that’s a little different. I didn’t ask for an image, but for Google Gemini to generate a bass figure that would be good for dancing. The problem is that it doesn’t give the duration of the notes (and without syncopation, there’s no “grooviness” or funkiness possible. Also, the tabs GG generated are very “generic” or “vanilla.” They’re not wrong; it’s not a fail; just bland is all. AI has a long way to go before it can replace wetware (humans).

This map, generated by Bing Image Creator, is downright goofy. If you relied on BIC for directions, you would be loster than lost. Where’s Greenland? Why does it show Point Barrow as being inland? Need I go on? (No).

This was the prompt: “a map showing waypoints: Point Barrow, Alaska; the North Pole; a spot midway between Spitzbergen and Greenland; and Iceland”

Prompt: “gordo delgado”

These subjects are simply gordo (fat), not delgado (thin)

Google Gemini refused to even try to generate an image, equivocating, “Based on my search, "gordo delgado" is a Spanish term that translates to "thin fat." It's a non-medical term used to describe a person who appears to be at a healthy weight but has a high percentage of body fat and a low amount of muscle mass. Because this is a general term and not a specific person or object, I cannot generate a single, representative image for it.”