Google Thinks Beethoven Looks Like Mr. Bean - by Ted Gioia
That face made me laugh, but it also looked vaguely familiar. Finally, I figured it out—Google’s version of Beethoven looks like Mr. Bean on a bad day.
But it’s even worse than Spotify’s avatar of the esteemed composer—where you at least get a choice between a silly AI image of Beethoven as cartel boss hanging out at Studio 54 and a photo of Lang Lang staring dreamily into space.
We’ve all seen AI-generated images like this. But actual portraits of Beethoven exist, and are easy to find on the web. So why does Google prefer this ridiculous alternative?
Not all of the images are quite this bizarre. But I’m disturbed how often Google prefers AI constructs over surviving portraits and even photos. After all, we actually know what Chopin looked like—we have his photographic image.
But Google wants something more formidable. These famous composers are serious dudes—and web surfers need to read it in their faces.
