Alarm at false health advice on Google AI

Misleading information on AI summaries is putting people at risk, an investigation has found Page 8 →

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People are being put at risk of harm by false and misleading health information in Google's AI summaries, a Guardian investigation has found.

The company has said its AI Overviews, which use generative AI to provide snapshots of essential information about a topic or question, are "helpful" and "reliable".

But some of the summaries, which appear at the top of search results, served up inaccurate health information and put people at risk of harm.

In one case that experts described as "really dangerous", Google wrongly advised people with pancreatic cancer to avoid high-fat foods. Experts said this was the exact opposite of what should be recommended, and may increase the risk of patients dying from the disease.

In another "alarming" example, the company provided bogus information about crucial liver function tests, which could leave people with serious liver disease wrongly thinking they are healthy.

Google searches for answers about women's cancer tests also provided "completely wrong" information, which experts said could result in people dismissing genuine symptoms.

A Google spokesperson said that many of the health examples shared with them were "incomplete screen shots", but from what they could assess they linked "to well-known, reputable sources and recommend seeking out expert advice".