Source: theguardian.com 5/4/26
An acclaimed Canadian fiddle player has launched a $1.5m civil lawsuit against Google, alleging that the online giant defamed him by falsely identifying him as a sex offender in an AI-generated summary of his life and career.
Ashley MacIsaac, a three-time Juno award-winning musician, filed the claim in the Ontario superior court of justice, asserting that Google was liable for the “foreseeable republication” of its AI-generated Overview feature, which previously 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 sexual assaulting the child, and assault causing bodily harm.
Google’s AI Overview also wrongly stated that MacIsaac had been listed on the national sex offender registry for life, the lawsuit says.
“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,” MacIsaac’s lawsuit says. “Google knew, or ought to have known, that the AI overview was imperfect and could return information that was untrue.”
The musician is suing Google for $500,000 in general damages, $500,000 in aggravated damages and $500,000 in punitive damages.
MacIsaac claimed he had learned of the inaccurate information when…