‘Dangerous and alarming’: Google removes some of its AI summaries after users’ health is put at risk

Google has removed some of its artificial intelligence (AI) health summaries after a Guardian investigation found people were being put at risk of harm by false and misleading information. 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, putting users at risk of harm. In one case that experts described as “dangerous” and “alarming,” Google provided bogus information about crucial liver function tests that could leave people with serious liver disease wrongly thinking they were healthy. What Google’s AI Overviews said was normal may vary drastically from what was actually considered normal, experts said. The summaries could lead to seriously ill patients wrongly thinking they had a normal test result, and not bother to attend follow-up healthcare meetings.