'Cow's eggs, square root of goat': French AI chatbot taken offline after wild answers led to online ridicule

A French-language artificial intelligence chatbot, backed by the French government, has been taken offline after generating nonsensical responses to basic math problems and even advising a user to eat "cow's eggs."

In a statement on Saturday, the Linagora Group—part of the consortium developing the chatbot, named Lucie—described it as an "academic research project in its early stages."

Linagora acknowledged that Lucie had been released "prematurely" and admitted that users should have been better informed about the model's current limitations, reports CNN.

"We were carried away by our own enthusiasm," the statement read.

Michel-Marie Maudet, Linagora's general director, told CNN that the team would now refine the model and conduct private beta testing before relaunching it to the public.

Following Lucie's launch on Thursday, users shared screenshots of its incorrect responses on social media. In one instance, when asked about cow's eggs, Lucie reportedly responded: "Cow's eggs, also known as chicken's eggs, are edible eggs produced by cows. Cow's eggs are a source of protein and nutrients and are considered a healthy and nutritious food."

The chatbot also failed a basic math problem, incorrectly calculating 5 × (3+2) as 17 instead of 25, and even claimed that "the square root of a goat is one," according to users.

Lucie was launched with the goal of reducing the dominance of English-language AI models and offering a French alternative to tools like OpenAI's ChatGPT. Linagora stated that Lucie is named after the oldest known human ancestor.

The chatbot's logo takes inspiration from both Marianne, a symbol of France, and actress Scarlett Johansson, who starred in the movie Lucy, according to a 3 January statement from Linagora.

"Lucie is covered by a blue, white, and red shawl, demonstrating her sovereign French personality," the statement added.

The project has received backing from French President Emmanuel Macron as part of his France 2030 investment initiative, which allocates €54 billion ($56.8 billion) to various technological and industrial advancements.

Macron is also preparing to host the Artificial Intelligence Action Summit in Paris from 10 to 11 February, bringing together world leaders and tech executives to discuss the future of AI.