Why couldn’t Google AI get this right?
Peter Mander
The molecular formula for benzoic acid is C7H6O2, so Google AI is being asked to compile the following equation and solve for x
7x + (6 × 1) + (2 × -2) = 0
x = -2/7
Well within Google AI’s capabilities one would think. But when I put this question to Google’s Gemini chatbot on 11 October 2025, it responded in the first instance with -1/3, then corrected it to -3/7, both wrong answers. I asked again and it gave a new incorrect answer of -1/7. I asked one more time the next day and it returned to.