Google asserts that it should not be deemed accountable for supposed hallucinations generated by its AI.
Google asserts that it should not be deemed accountable for supposed hallucinations generated by its AI.
Google has filed a motion to dismiss a defamation case initiated by anti-corporate diversity advocate Robby Starbuck, who asserts that Google’s AI inaccurately linked him with accusations of sexual assault and white nationalism.
Starbuck’s allegations against Google arose after he filed a similar lawsuit against Meta, arguing that its AI mistakenly claimed he had been involved in the January 6th insurrection at the US Capitol. However, Meta resolved that lawsuit in August and subsequently brought Starbuck on board as an advisor to help combat “ideological and political bias” in its AI chatbot, The Wall Street Journal reported. The publication noted last month that thus far, no US court has granted damages for defamation involving an AI chatbot.
Starbuck is pursuing $15 million in damages from Google. Nevertheless, the company claims in its submission that his assertions merely reflect his “abuse of developer tools to provoke hallucinations.” According to Google, Starbuck does not specify the prompts he employed to produce the disputed outputs, nor does he mention any actual individual who was deceived by the supposed claims. Starbuck did not immediately respond to a request for commentary.
Google could eventually opt for a course similar to Meta’s to settle the allegations. However, for the time being, it has chosen to contest them in court.
