A cat jumped up on my couch. Wait a minute. I don’t have a cat.
This alert came through my Google Home app while I was out at a party, unexpectedly notifying me of a feline intruder. It turned out to be my dog, not a cat. This was shortly after I activated Google’s Gemini feature in the Google Home app, which utilizes large language models to enhance the smart home experience. One of its standout features is the ability to provide more descriptive alerts from my Nest security cameras, giving details like identifying package deliveries rather than just broadly stating “Person seen.”
In the two weeks since I enabled Gemini for my Google Home, I particularly appreciated its ability to accurately detect delivery drivers and report how many packages arrived each day. It’s reassuring to know when it’s a FedEx delivery—thanks to my Nest Doorbell—as opposed to an unsolicited visitor.
However, despite its advancements, Gemini persistently fails to acknowledge that I do not have a cat. Instead, it identifies my dog, much to my amusement. After the cameras registered that my “cat” was active and sitting on the couch—something my dog would never do—I decided to share this inconsistency with Gemini. The voice assistant has been revamped, letting me ask it to set up home automation tasks easily and handle multiple commands seamlessly.
Yet, when I explicitly told Gemini that my indoor camera keeps mistaking my dog for a cat, although it acknowledged my correction, the errors persisted. A Google spokesperson informed me that the Home Brief and Ask Home features are still in an early-access phase, and the company is actively seeking user feedback to refine these services.
The spokesperson noted, “We are investing heavily in improving accurate identification, including for pets,” indicating hopes that future updates will aid Gemini in learning more precisely and recognizing my dog over a cat.
While the Familiar Faces feature, which allows me to name frequent visitors to my home, can be beneficial—it’s often humorous when it mistakenly identifies me at the door—it doesn’t currently support pet recognition. Until this potential upgrade occurs, my furry friend will continue to be misidentified, despite my corrections.
This situation emphasizes that even as AI becomes more advanced, there are still fundamental distinctions it struggles to grasp about our everyday lives, even when we provide it with the correct information.
