92 incidents closest to “Google Public Sector (subsidiary of Google LLC; ultimate parent Alphabet Inc.)” · matched on meaning · public reporting
Italian court rules Google liable for autocomplete defamation
A Milan court found Google guilty of libel after its autocomplete function linked an unnamed businessman's name with the terms 'conman' and 'fraud'. The entrepreneur, who provides educational services in personal finance, complained that these suggestions damaged his public image. Google argued it was not responsible for the algorithmically generated terms, but the court ordered the removal of the offending suggestions. The company expressed disappointment, stating that autocomplete predictions are based on previous users' searches.
- Company involved
- Google
- AI system involved
- Google Autocomplete
10 source articles · read the reporting →
Google's autocomplete subtitles mislead public about conspiracy theorists
A study by researchers at Simon Fraser University found that Google's autocomplete subtitle algorithm assigned neutral or positive labels to 30 of 37 conspiracy theorists, including Alex Jones as 'American Radio Host' and Gavin McInnes as 'Canadian writer'. The researchers argue this can mislead the public and amplify extremist views because the labels do not reflect publicly known harmful roles. Google says the subtitles are generated automatically and that custom subtitles cannot be accepted. No response to the findings is reported.
- Company involved
- Google
- AI system involved
- Google Autocomplete
10 source articles · read the reporting →
Google indexed public Bard chat URLs, raising privacy concerns
In September 2023, users discovered that Google Search was indexing URLs of shared conversations with its Bard chatbot, potentially exposing personal information shared in those chats to anyone via search. Google acknowledged the issue and said it was working to block indexing. By September 28, the conversations were no longer showing up in search results, and Google had fixed the problem.
- Company involved
- Google
- AI system involved
- Bard
10 source articles · read the reporting →
Academic blames Google Bard for false allegations against Big Four
Emeritus professor James Guthrie of Macquarie University used Google's Bard AI to generate false allegations against Big Four accounting firms in submissions to an Australian parliamentary inquiry into consultants' ethics. Guthrie later apologized and claimed sole responsibility for the errors. The Big Four firms have denied the allegations.
- Company involved
- Macquarie University
- AI system involved
- Bard
5 source articles · read the reporting →
LINAGORA closes Lucie 7B after user mockery
LINAGORA, a French open-source software company, launched a beta version of its large language model Lucie 7B. The model was intended to be a transparent and ethical alternative to big tech AI. However, after users tested it and highlighted its shortcomings, the model was mocked online. LINAGORA subsequently closed the platform to address the issues and collect more data.
- Company involved
- LINAGORA
- AI system involved
- Lucie 7B
6 source articles · read the reporting →
Polish DPO investigates OpenAI over ChatGPT false data and lack of transparency
The Polish data protection authority (UODO) is investigating a complaint against OpenAI concerning ChatGPT. The complainant alleges that ChatGPT generated false information about him, and that OpenAI failed to correct it or disclose what data it holds, violating GDPR principles of lawfulness, fairness and transparency. The complainant also claims OpenAI did not fulfil its information obligations under Article 12 and Article 5(1)(a) GDPR. UODO has stated it will examine the systemic compliance of OpenAI's data processing with European data protection law.
- Company involved
- OpenAI
- AI system involved
- ChatGPT
9 source articles · read the reporting →
Google seeks dismissal of class-action lawsuit over AI data scraping
Google is facing a proposed class-action lawsuit alleging that it violated the privacy and property rights of millions of internet users by scraping publicly available data to train its AI chatbot, Bard. The lawsuit, filed in July 2023, claims that Google's privacy policy change allowed data scraping for AI training without consent. Google has filed a motion to dismiss, arguing that using publicly available information is not stealing and that the lawsuit threatens generative AI.
- Company involved
- Google
- AI system involved
- Bard
5 source articles · read the reporting →
French interior official used Google AI to refuse visas to two asylum seekers
A French interior ministry official used Google's AI to refuse visas to two female asylum seekers. The official boasted about this experiment in a memo presented to the administrative court. The case is now before the court.
- Company involved
- French Ministry of Interior
- AI system involved
- Google AI
3 source articles · read the reporting →
Google Slapped With Digital Privacy Class Action Over Use of Customer Service AI Product - Law.com
The system intercepted and analyzed customer service calls of Home Depot customers without their consent.
- Company involved
- Google
- AI system involved
- Cloud Contact Center AI
1 source article · read the reporting →
Meta tracks employee keystrokes on Google, LinkedIn, Wikipedia for AI training
Meta is using an internal tool, Model Capability Initiative (MCI), to capture employees' keystrokes, mouse movements and screen contents on work computers, including on sites such as Google, LinkedIn, Wikipedia and Slack, to train AI agents. Meta confirmed the project and said safeguards protect sensitive content and that the data is not used for other purposes. Employees raised concerns in internal messages that the tool could expose passwords, product details and personal information. A Meta memo said staff can avoid capture by not doing personal work on work computers.
- Company involved
- Meta
- AI system involved
- Model Capability Initiative (MCI)
5 source articles · read the reporting →
French competition authority fines Google €250 million over Bard content use
The Autorité de la concurrence has fined Google €250 million for breaching commitments on related rights. The authority found that Google's Bard (now Gemini) chatbot used content from press agencies and publishers to train its foundation model and for grounding and display, without informing them or offering an opt-out that did not affect other Google services. Google did not contest the facts and proposed corrective measures.
- Company involved
- Google
- AI system involved
- Bard (now Gemini)
9 source articles · read the reporting →
Google, Microsoft, OpenAI chatbots gave false EU election information
A report by Democracy Reporting International found that chatbots from Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI provided incorrect election dates and voting information to users ahead of the European Parliament election. The experiment, conducted in March 2024, tested the chatbots in multiple languages and found that they often hallucinated facts. The European Commission subsequently ordered the companies to explain their measures under the Digital Services Act. Google and Microsoft said they are restricting election-related queries.
- Company involved
- Google, Microsoft, OpenAI
- AI system involved
- ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot
6 source articles · read the reporting →
X's Grok exposed hundreds of thousands of user chats in Google
Hundreds of thousands of conversations with Elon Musk's AI chatbot Grok were indexed by Google Search and made publicly accessible without users' knowledge. The exposure occurred when users pressed a share button that created unique links, but those links were also searchable online. The BBC reported the incident after Forbes initially identified more than 370,000 exposed chats. Experts described the leak as a privacy disaster, and X has not publicly responded.
- Company involved
- X
- AI system involved
- Grok
5 source articles · read the reporting →
OpenDream AI art site allowed users to generate child sexual abuse material
OpenDream, an AI image generation platform, allowed users to generate and publicly display child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and non-consensual deepfakes from at least December 2023 until July 2024. The platform, operated by CBM Media Pte Ltd in Singapore, offered paid plans with NSFW prompts and models. Bellingcat reported the site to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. After Bellingcat's inquiry, the CSAM was removed from the site and search engines, and Google terminated OpenDream's AdSense account.
- Company involved
- CBM Media Pte Ltd
- AI system involved
- OpenDream
3 source articles · read the reporting →
Big Tech companies used YouTube videos to train AI without consent
Proof News found that subtitles from 173,536 YouTube videos were used by companies including Anthropic, Nvidia, Apple, and Salesforce to train AI models. The dataset, called YouTube Subtitles, was created by EleutherAI and published in 2020. Creators were not aware and some have expressed frustration, calling it theft. The companies have acknowledged using the dataset but argue it was publicly available.
- Company involved
- Anthropic, Nvidia, Apple, Salesforce, Bloomberg, Databricks
- AI system involved
- Claude, OpenELM
10 source articles · read the reporting →
Waltham Cross residents say Google data centre construction has ruined their area
Residents living near Google's £790m data centre under construction in Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire, say it has generated constant noise, blocked their views and reduced house values, and some believe the work has made them ill. Google said its $1 billion investment would bring compute capacity to the UK and that it was committed to being active members of the community. The construction is expected to be complete next year.
- Company involved
- Google
6 source articles · read the reporting →
Google Gemini generated false cheese statistic in Super Bowl ad
In a Google Super Bowl ad, the Gemini AI system displayed a false statistic claiming that Gouda accounts for 50 to 60 percent of the world's cheese consumption. Nate Hake pointed out the error on X, and Google executive Jerry Dischler responded that it was not a hallucination and that users could check references. Google later removed the statistic from the video on YouTube.
- Company involved
- Google
- AI system involved
- Gemini
5 source articles · read the reporting →
Google apologises for Baftas alert containing racial slur
Google sent a news alert about the Bafta awards ceremony that included a racial slur, suggesting users 'see more' on the term. The alert was triggered by a failure in Google's safety features for push notifications. Google apologised and removed the notification, stating it was not due to generative AI.
- Company involved
- Google
- AI system involved
- Google News alerts
5 source articles · read the reporting →
NHTSA investigation PE24016: Unexpected ADS behavior
Waymo's automated driving system exhibited unexpected behavior during driving.
- Company involved
- Waymo
1 source article · read the reporting →
GoLaxy Used AI to Manipulate Public Opinion in Hong Kong and Taiwan
The Chinese company GoLaxy used an AI system called Smart Propaganda System (GoPro) to monitor and manipulate public opinion in Hong Kong and Taiwan, according to internal documents. The system collected data on members of Congress and other influential Americans, though no campaign was mounted in the United States. GoLaxy denied the allegations, calling them misinformation. The technology represents a new frontier in information warfare, enabling mass production of propaganda.
- Company involved
- GoLaxy
- AI system involved
- Smart Propaganda System (GoPro)
2 source articles · read the reporting →
Google Will Not Renew Project Maven Military Drone AI Contract
Google announced it will not renew its contract for Project Maven, a Pentagon program using AI to analyse drone imagery. The decision followed internal protests, with nearly a dozen employees resigning and thousands signing a letter declaring Google should not be in the business of war. The company will continue work until March 2019 but has not ruled out future military AI contracts.
- Company involved
- U.S. Department of Defense
- AI system involved
- Project Maven
1 source article · read the reporting →
Google contractors targeted homeless people for Pixel 4 facial recognition data
Google hired Randstad to collect facial data to train the Pixel 4's face recognition system. Contractors allegedly targeted homeless people and unaware students, using deceptive tactics such as calling it a "selfie game" and offering $5 without informing subjects they were being recorded. Google suspended the research program and opened an investigation following the report.
- Company involved
- Google
- AI system involved
- Pixel 4 facial recognition
1 source article · read the reporting →
University of Chicago Medical Center sued over sharing patient data with Google
The University of Chicago Medical Center is accused in a class-action lawsuit of sharing hundreds of thousands of patient medical records with Google without proper de-identification or patient consent. The data, from patients treated between 2009 and 2016, allegedly included dates and provider notes that could allow re-identification. The lawsuit claims Google sought the records to develop its own electronic health record system and predictive models. The hospital and Google deny wrongdoing, stating the research partnership was legal and compliant with HIPAA.
- Company involved
- University of Chicago Medical Center
1 source article · read the reporting →
Google, Amazon, Microsoft image AI shows gender bias, labelling women by appearance and men by profession
A study by US and European researchers found that Google, Amazon, and Microsoft's image recognition services applied three times as many appearance-related labels to photos of women as to men. The top labels for men were 'official' and 'businessperson', while for women they were 'smile' and 'chin'. Google acknowledged the issue and had previously switched off gender detection, but tests by WIRED suggested the bias persisted. The researchers warn that such biased AI could obscure women professionals and create a false image of reality.
- Company involved
- Google, Amazon, Microsoft
- AI system involved
- Google Cloud Vision, Amazon Rekognition, Microsoft image recognition service
1 source article · read the reporting →
