> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.philsimon.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Multimodal Miscues - URL: https://www.philsimon.com/ais-multimodal-miscues/ - Published: 2026-03-09T14:46:18.000Z - Updated: 2026-06-05T00:26:05.000Z - Description: As my recent interactions with Gemini proved, newfangled AI chatbots continue to find fascinating ways to drop the ball. - Author: Phil Simon - Tags: AI, Dataviz, ChatGPT, The Nine, Low-Code/No-Code, Claude, Citizen Development, Notion, Speaking I'm preparing for my first 2026 speaking gig. The topic shouldn't surprise anyone these days: AI with a dash of [citizen development](https://www.philsimon.com/tag/citizen-development/). As I do with all [my talks](https://www.philsimon.com/speaking), I bring my receipts in the form of data. Lots of data. To that end, why not enlist AI to help me generate compelling visualizations? It's not a difficult ask. Standalone AI image generators have existed [since 1973](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AARON?ref=philsimon.com). These days, you need neither a dedicated tool to produce computer-generated JPG and PNG files nor a design program like [Canva](https://partner.canva.com/a12X2W?ref=philsimon.com). Put differently, mainstream AI chatbots are multimodal. As you'll see in this post, they continue to make plenty of baffling non-text mistakes. ## Prompting Gemini I used Claude's deep research feature to generate some recent surveys and studies on AI in the workplace. I threw the results into Notion, took a screenshot of one promising survey, and then crossed over to Gemini. Here's my initial prompt: Turn this picture into a bar chart. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/8f/b5/8fb5e321-49a6-4cf5-8a28-c6f6d5417e54/content/images/2026/01/gemini1.jpeg) Notion Image Uploaded to Gemini, January 28, 2026 | Click to enlarge it. Here's its initial response: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/8f/b5/8fb5e321-49a6-4cf5-8a28-c6f6d5417e54/content/images/2026/01/gemini2.jpeg) Gemini Result, January 28, 2026 | Click on the image to enlarge it. That's the data in a structured format. It's a good start, but Gemini failed to produce the requested chart. I responded with the following prompt. Where's the bar chart? I just see a table. And Gemini then gave me the abomination below: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/8f/b5/8fb5e321-49a6-4cf5-8a28-c6f6d5417e54/content/images/2026/01/gemini3.jpeg) Gemini Result, January 28, 2026 | Click on the image to enlarge it. See a problem? > Sometimes, it's just quicker to pretend that Gemini, Perplexity, and ChatGPT don't exist. I had to go old school. ## Sign up for Simon Says Weekly insights on AI, workplace tech, and more. SUBSCRIBE Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. No bullshit. Unsubscribe anytime. ## AI as a Designer For [a recent post's featured image](https://www.philsimon.com/schwarzenegger-hallucinations-titanic-ai), I gave Google's much-hyped [Nano Banana](https://aistudio.google.com/models/gemini-2-5-flash-image?ref=philsimon.com) the following prompt: Draw a picture in this style of Arnold Schwarzenegger watching a movie. Nano Banana required four attempts to return something passable. Pictures of decapitated celebrities aren't my jam. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/8f/b5/8fb5e321-49a6-4cf5-8a28-c6f6d5417e54/content/images/2026/01/1st.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/8f/b5/8fb5e321-49a6-4cf5-8a28-c6f6d5417e54/content/images/2026/01/2nd.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/8f/b5/8fb5e321-49a6-4cf5-8a28-c6f6d5417e54/content/images/2026/01/3rd-1.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/8f/b5/8fb5e321-49a6-4cf5-8a28-c6f6d5417e54/content/images/2026/01/4th.jpeg) The Fourth Time Was a Charm | Image Sources: Google Nano Banana [Adventures in Multimodal AIThoughts on the transformative and unprecedented power of today’s tools.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/8f/b5/8fb5e321-49a6-4cf5-8a28-c6f6d5417e54/content/images/icon/newlogo-2-8cef6cb7-cd0d-41cd-9089-aad60c0187e1.png)Phil SimonPhil Simon![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/8f/b5/8fb5e321-49a6-4cf5-8a28-c6f6d5417e54/content/images/thumbnail/person_sitting_in_chair_wearing-fdb30a01-68ab-42b9-9033-25c90b2ab4b9.jpg)](https://www.philsimon.com/adventures-in-multimodal-ai/) ## The AI Paradox Is Alive and Well So smart one minute and so dumb the next. Expect plenty of [hallucinations](https://www.philsimon.com/harold-baines/)—and not just in text-based responses. Such is life in the age of AI. Sometimes, it's just quicker to pretend that Gemini, Perplexity, and ChatGPT don't exist. ## Feedback What say you?