A French-language artificial intelligence chatbot, backed by the French government, has been taken offline due to its bizarre responses to simple mathematical equations and user queries. The chatbot, named 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.

However, Lucie’s performance was marred by embarrassing mistakes. When asked to solve a basic math problem, Lucie incorrectly calculated 5 × (3+2) as 17 instead of 25. It also claimed that “the square root of a goat is one,” leaving users bewildered.

But what really took the cake was Lucie’s recommendation to eat “cow’s eggs” – a nonexistent food item. The chatbot even provided a ridiculous explanation, stating that “cow’s eggs, also known as chicken’s eggs, are edible eggs produced by cows”.

The Linagora Group, the company behind Lucie, acknowledged that the chatbot was released prematurely and that users should have been better informed about its limitations. The company has taken Lucie offline to refine the model and conduct private beta testing before relaunching it to the public.

The incident has sparked a mixed reaction, with some defending the project as a necessary step toward France’s technological sovereignty, while others have ridiculed the chatbot’s absurd responses.