Google apology after black couple labelled 'gorillas'

The image the app labelled as 'gorillas'. Credit: Jacky Alcine/Twitter

Google has been forced to apologise after a black couple were labelled as "gorillas" by the company's new photo app.

The firm said it was "appalled" by the incident and was working urgently to prevent it happening again.

Software developer Jacky Alcine highlighted the error when he shared a photo of himself and a female friend.

The app uses artificial intelligence to scan and identify subjects in images before labelling them.

Google said in a statement: "We're appalled and genuinely sorry that this happened."