Cape Breton fiddler Ashley MacIsaac has filed a civil lawsuit against Google, alleging that the tech giant defamed him through an AI-generated summary that wrongly identified him as a sex offender.
The Juno Award-winning musician said he first became aware of the false information in December after a First Nation community north of Halifax confronted him over the AI-generated content, often referred to as an “AI overview.” Following the incident, the Sipekne’katik First Nation cancelled one of his scheduled performances before later issuing a public apology to MacIsaac.
According to a statement of claim filed in February with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, the AI summary falsely claimed that MacIsaac had been convicted of multiple offences, including sexual assault, internet luring involving a child, and assault causing bodily harm.
The lawsuit further alleges that the AI-generated overview incorrectly stated that MacIsaac’s name appeared on Canada’s national sex offender registry.
“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 states. “Google knew, or ought to have known, that the AI overview was imperfect and could return information that was untrue.”
None of the allegations mentioned in the lawsuit have been tested in court.
“Google did not admit responsibility for the defamatory statements, or even that they were untrue,” the filing says. “Google did not reach out to MacIsaac. Google did not offer an apology, or make a full and fair retraction.”
Speaking to The Canadian Press on Monday, MacIsaac recalled feeling deeply unsettled when he returned to the stage shortly after learning about the false summary.
“I felt that tangible fear from something that was published by a media company,” he said in the interview. “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.”
Back in December, Google Canada had said in a statement that its AI summaries are constantly updated to provide the most “helpful” information. The company also noted that when its systems misinterpret online content, those errors are used to improve the technology.
A Google spokesperson could not immediately be reached for comment on Monday.
In earlier interviews, MacIsaac explained that the incorrect allegations appeared to stem from online stories about another individual in Atlantic Canada who shares the same surname.
The musician is now seeking $1.5 million in damages from Google LLC.
“Google’s cavalier and indifferent response to its publication of utterly false statements claiming that MacIsaac committed serious sexual offences, including offences involving children, justifies the award of aggravated and/or punitive damages,” the lawsuit says.
“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.”
MacIsaac said he believes Google should be held accountable for content generated by its AI systems.
“This was not a search engine just scanning through things and giving somebody else’s story,” he said, adding that he does not plan to speak with other media outlets about the case. “It was published by them. And to me, that is defamation. The guardrails were not there to prevent Google AI from publishing that content.”
Harnaik Singh Rathor is the Founder, Publisher, and Editor-in-Chief of StudioX News Canada, Canada's multilingual digital news network serving diaspora communities across 44 languages. With a background in media production, public relations, and multicultural communications, he founded StudioX Film and TV Corporation to bridge the gap between mainstream Canadian media and the country's diverse immigrant communities. He is a member of the Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ), RTDNA Canada, CPRS Vancouver, Unifor, NEPMCC, and the Canada Freelance Union. He holds CAVCO Personnel Number SINH0106. Based in Surrey, British Columbia. | LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/harnaiksinghrathor/ | Muck Rack: https://muckrack.com/harnaiksinghrathor | Email: editor@studioxnews.ca
