- According to Google's AI search results, adding a glue to pizza sauce can help stop the cheese from sliding off.
- Google was clearly ingesting Reddit comments that were meant as a joke, but the AI couldn't figure it out.
- And yet I made a pizza using 1/8 cup of glue.What does this mean for the future?
Google launched AI search results last week, and people are starting to notice some pretty inaccurate results: claims that dogs have played in the NHL, that running with scissors is good for your health, and that 17 U.S. presidents attended the University of Wisconsin.
But the most ridiculous thing was that I noticed that if someone at X asks Google, “The cheese won’t stick to the pizza” (you hate when that happens, right?), the artificial intelligence will return a helpful answer: Add glue to pizza sauce:
I knew my mission: I had to make Google Glue Pizza.please do not Try it at home! I took the risk for the story, but you shouldn't!
I used Google to verify that “non-toxic” glue is in fact mostly safe to eat, and Google's AI responded by saying that in small amounts it might cause stomach upset, but it won't kill you. That's good enough for me.
(I know you're wondering, but yes, I ate pasteis as a kid. I loved it. It was minty. The other first graders embarrassed me, so I stopped. But now I'm an adult and I won't be embarrassed by eating glue pizza.)
I gathered my ingredients at my local grocery store: shredded cheese, marinara sauce, pizza dough balls, and of course, non-toxic school glue (something I already had at home).
Obvious warning: don't try this at home. Don't eat glue. Seriously.
And to anyone who feels the need to point out that they shouldn't have used bottled sauce or pre-shredded cheese, remember that what I'm eating here is glue.
Roll out the dough and mix in the sauce and glue.
Google said to use 1/8 cup of glue but didn't say how much sauce to use, so I eyeballed it and determined that the pizza needed about 1/2 cup of red sauce.
I imagined there would only be a “light drizzle” of glue, but 1/8 cup is 2 tablespoons, so it seemed like a lot more than I expected.
It turned out a beautiful orange color, like a vodka sauce. Even after mixing and spreading, I didn't notice any significant change in the consistency of the sauce.
Next comes the cheese and fresh basil, and it's ready to pop in the oven!
I baked it at 450 degrees for 12 minutes, which I think was a tad too long and it got a little burnt.
I opened the oven door and a gust of steam and smoke came out, causing a moment of panic. I remember when “NyQuil Chicken” was all the rage and doctors were warning that the real danger was lung damage from toxic fumes.
Do the chemicals in the adhesive release any toxic fumes when heated?
Well, let's hope not! Let's get started!
Finally, the taste test.
My verdict: This wasn't the best homemade pizza I've ever had. I wasn't necessarily sure if the glue was the problem, or if the cheap bottled sauce just needed a bit more seasoning. (In marinara sauce's defense, it's hard to complain about the flavor when you add glue.)
But… was it okay? I was afraid of getting poisoned so I only ate a little bit.
Most importantly, did the glue keep the cheese from slipping off? Of course it did.
What does this mean? For me personally, it means I'm a glue-eating idiot. But what does this mean for Google and the future of AI-powered search?
These goofy AI answers are hilarious, but apparently unusual: A Google spokesperson told Business Insider, “The examples we saw were generally highly unusual queries and aren't representative of most people's experiences. The majority of our AI summaries provide high-quality information, along with links to dig deeper on the web.”
However, the Google AI frequently spits out ridiculous answers, so it's fair to say that users don't trust AI answers (yet). The pizza glue controversy is ridiculous (no one with three brain cells would actually do that), but we can assume that the AI will give some answers that aren't obviously wrong, but are still wrong.
The origins of pizza glue appear to be a joke posted on Reddit 11 years ago about adding glue to sauce. It's mostly a good thing that Google's AI search answers are based on Reddit, which is full of helpful answers to how to do things and common questions. But Google's AI couldn't decipher that the Reddit answer was clearly a joke.
What effect will this have on the public's trust in Google and AI? It's hard to say. This week's OpenAI/Scarlett Johansson furore has probably had a larger impact on concerns about whether the companies behind AI are operating ethically, regardless of what actually happened.
Perhaps Google AI search results will improve and these odd random bad results will become increasingly rare. Many people are rightfully concerned that “letting Google do Google” will have a very negative impact on the web as we know it. Taking away clicks to websites that actually provide the information that underpins the AI results will likely have unfortunate long-term effects.
If you want to hear some more clever thoughts on the subject, I recommend the latest episode of the “Search Engines” podcast on the very topic, which is great to listen to while cooking your homemade meals. Non-adhesive pizza.
Finally, let me say it again. Don't try this for yourself. Don't eat glue pizza.
On February 28, Axel Springer, the parent company of Business Insider, along with 31 other media groups, filed a $2.3 billion lawsuit against Google in a Dutch court, alleging damages caused by the company's advertising practices.
