French AI chatbot Lucie shut down after basic errors
French-language AI chatbot Lucie, developed with government support, was shut down approximately three days after launch on 23 January 2025 due to providing obviously incorrect answers to basic questions, including mathematical errors and nonsensical biological claims. The developer acknowledged the release was premature and the system lacked adequate testing.
What happened
Lucie, a French-language AI chatbot developed by Linagora Group with government support, launched on 23 January 2025. Within days, users reported the system providing clearly incorrect answers to simple questions.
When asked about 'cow's eggs', Lucie responded that they are 'also called chicken eggs' and are edible eggs produced by cows containing protein and nutrients. When asked to calculate 5Γ(3+2), Lucie answered 17 instead of 25, failing to apply the order of operations.
Reported impact
Users shared multiple examples of the system's incorrect responses on social media, generating criticism and public disappointment with the system's performance.
Index analysis
The system failed on elementary arithmetic and semantic reasoning tasks, confusing biological categories and mathematical order of operations. The failures suggest inadequate testing before deployment.
Governance controls
Linagora Group acknowledged the model was in an early research stage and the release was premature. The company stated it should have more clearly communicated the model's limitations to users. The system was shut down after approximately three days in operation for further testing and updates.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.