Photo Credit: Ashley MacIsaac (Spotify)
Canadian fiddler Ashley MacIsaac, who was wrongly identified by Google’s AI overview as a sex offender, is suing the tech giant for defamation.
After acclaimed fiddler Ashley MacIsaac lost a gig late last year when Google’s AI-generated summary of his life and career falsely identified him as a sex offender, the artist is fighting back. MacIsaac has launched a $1.5 million civil lawsuit against Google, claiming the company defamed him and should be liable for its AI overview’s “defective design.”
A three-time Juno Award-winning musician, the Canadian fiddler filed his claim in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. He claimed that Google was liable for the “foreseeable republication” of its AI-generated overviews. Google’s AI overview wrongly stated that MacIsaac had been listed on the national sex offender registry for life and had been convicted of multiple sexual assault offenses.
“As the creator and operator of the AI overview, Google is also liable for injuries and losses arising from the AI overview’s defective design,” the lawsuit stated. “Google knew, or ought to have known, that the AI overview was imperfect and could return information that was untrue.”
MacIsaac is seeking $500,000 in general damages, $500,000 in aggravated damages, and another $500,000 in punitive damages.
The musician said he first learned of the inaccurate information when the Sipekne’katik First Nation cancelled an appearance scheduled for December 19. That cancellation came after members of the public complained and cited misinformation on Google. The Sipekne’katik First Nation issued a public apology to MacIsaac, but the damage was already done.
The artist told the Canadian Press that he was left with a “tangible fear” about performing: “I feared for my own safety going on stage because of what I was labelled as. And I don’t know how long this will follow me.”
While the Sipekne’katik First Nation was quick to apologize to MacIsaac, MacIsaac’s lawsuit claims that Google has still never contacted him or apologized to him over the grievous error.
“Google’s cavalier and indifferent response to its publication of utterly false statements claiming that MacIsaac committed serious sexual offenses, including offenses involving children, justifies the award of aggravated and/or punitive damages,” the lawsuit asserted.
“If a human spokesperson made these false allegations on Google’s behalf, a significant award of punitive damages would be warranted. Google should not have lesser liability because the defamatory statements were published by software that Google created and controls.”
“When I first discovered the false statements Google was publishing about me, I felt I needed to speak out to the media to clear my name and bring attention to the issue,” MacIsaac told The Guardian. “I believe this is a serious issue that needs to be resolved in the courts.”
When MacIsaac first spoke to the press about the matter back in December, a Google spokesperson released the following statement:
“AI overviews frequently improve to show the most helpful information, and we invest significantly in the quality of responses. When issues arise—like if our features misinterpret web content or miss some context—we use those examples to improve our systems and may take action under our policies.”
