Credit: Tabercil
Canadian fiddle player Ashley MacIsaac has launched a civil lawsuit against Google after the organisation allegedly falsely identified him as a sex offender in an AI-generated summary.
The three-time Juno award-winner claimed that Google was liable for the “foreseeable republication” of its AI-generated overview feature.
The claim filed in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice alleged that the online giant published defamatory claims that he had been convicted of multiple criminal offences, including “the sexual assault of a woman, internet luring involving a child with the intention of sexually assaulting the child, and assault causing bodily harm,” as per The Guardian.
The lawsuit also says that MacIsaac had been listed on the national sex offender registry for life, a claim that is also not founded in truth.
MacIsaac’s lawsuit posits that “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.”
Therefore, the musician has moved to sue Google for $500,000 in general damages, $500,000 in aggravated damages, and $500,000 in punitive damages.
As per The Canadian Press, the fiddler shared that this mistake led to a “tangible fear” in his life.
He shared, “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.”
The fiddler first heard of the spreading misinformation when the Sipekne’katik First Nation called a show in December due to complaints they had received from members of the public reading the AI summary of his life and career.
However, it didn’t take long for the truth to come to light; the Sipekne’katik First Nation later issued a public apology to MacIsaac, saying, “Decisions were based on incorrect information generated through an AI-assisted search, which mistakenly associated you with offences unrelated to you.”
They added, “We deeply regret the harm this caused to your reputation and livelihood.”
MacIsaac still hasn’t received an apology from Google for the error.
He addresses this in the lawsuit, writing, “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.”
ADD AS A PREFERRED SOURCE ON GOOGLE 
The Far Out Music Newsletter
All the latest music news from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.