Google has been forced to remove some of its artificial intelligence (AI) health summaries after a recent investigation found that these summaries were putting users at risk of harm by providing false and misleading information.
The AI Overviews, which use generative AI to provide snapshots of essential information about a topic or question, have been deemed "helpful" and "reliable" by Google. However, experts have raised concerns over the accuracy of these summaries, particularly when it comes to health-related queries.
In one instance, typing "what is the normal range for liver blood tests" into Google led to a summary that provided inaccurate information about crucial liver function tests. This could put people with serious liver disease at risk of not seeking further medical care, as they may incorrectly assume they have a normal test result.
Experts warn that these summaries can lead to seriously ill patients being misled by incorrect information and failing to attend follow-up healthcare meetings. The investigation also found that even slight variations of the original queries prompted AI Overviews, which is a cause for concern.
Google has since removed AI Overviews for certain search terms related to liver health. However, experts say this is only a step in the right direction and more needs to be done to tackle the issue of AI Overviews providing inaccurate health information.
"This is excellent news, but it's only the first step," said Vanessa Hebditch, director of communications and policy at the British Liver Trust. "We're concerned that if people ask questions in a different way, they'll still get misleading AI Overviews."
The investigation has highlighted the need for Google to improve its quality control measures when it comes to health-related search results. The company's internal team of clinicians reviewed some of the information provided by AI Overviews and found that in many instances, the information was not inaccurate but rather relied on high-quality websites.
However, experts say that even if the information is from reputable sources, the presentation and interpretation of that information can still be misleading. As one expert noted, "A liver function test or LFT is a collection of different blood tests... But the AI Overviews present a list of tests in bold, making it very easy for readers to miss that these numbers might not even be the right ones for their test."
Google's reliance on its AI tool has led to calls for greater transparency and accountability. As one expert noted, "AI Overviews appear above ranked results... When the topic is health, errors carry more weight."
The AI Overviews, which use generative AI to provide snapshots of essential information about a topic or question, have been deemed "helpful" and "reliable" by Google. However, experts have raised concerns over the accuracy of these summaries, particularly when it comes to health-related queries.
In one instance, typing "what is the normal range for liver blood tests" into Google led to a summary that provided inaccurate information about crucial liver function tests. This could put people with serious liver disease at risk of not seeking further medical care, as they may incorrectly assume they have a normal test result.
Experts warn that these summaries can lead to seriously ill patients being misled by incorrect information and failing to attend follow-up healthcare meetings. The investigation also found that even slight variations of the original queries prompted AI Overviews, which is a cause for concern.
Google has since removed AI Overviews for certain search terms related to liver health. However, experts say this is only a step in the right direction and more needs to be done to tackle the issue of AI Overviews providing inaccurate health information.
"This is excellent news, but it's only the first step," said Vanessa Hebditch, director of communications and policy at the British Liver Trust. "We're concerned that if people ask questions in a different way, they'll still get misleading AI Overviews."
The investigation has highlighted the need for Google to improve its quality control measures when it comes to health-related search results. The company's internal team of clinicians reviewed some of the information provided by AI Overviews and found that in many instances, the information was not inaccurate but rather relied on high-quality websites.
However, experts say that even if the information is from reputable sources, the presentation and interpretation of that information can still be misleading. As one expert noted, "A liver function test or LFT is a collection of different blood tests... But the AI Overviews present a list of tests in bold, making it very easy for readers to miss that these numbers might not even be the right ones for their test."
Google's reliance on its AI tool has led to calls for greater transparency and accountability. As one expert noted, "AI Overviews appear above ranked results... When the topic is health, errors carry more weight."
Google's got a lot of power when it comes to info dissemination on the web, and if their AI summaries are giving people faulty medical advice, that's a big deal. I mean, think about it - we're already dealing with enough fake news and disinformation online, but now you've got these supposedly "reliable" health summaries that might be spreading misinformation? It's like they're playing doctor 
.
), but we can't afford to take our eyes off the ball when it comes to health information. We need better safeguards in place to prevent people from getting misled by incorrect info. And let's be real, if Google is only taking steps to address this issue because of public pressure... what does that say about their priorities? 
my grandma recently used google to research her meds and got some super wrong info from that ai overview thingy... she almost missed a follow-up appointment because of it 
what's even crazier is that the search term itself doesn't have to be exactly right for google to still spit out false info 
like, what if people type 'what's wrong with my liver' instead of 'liver function test' and get some weird results? 
anyway, glad they're removing those summaries but we need more than just a tweak 
It's like how our politicians promise to fix everything, but do they follow through? 
In this case, it seems like Google is just scratching the surface, you know?
We can't just trust big tech companies to do the right thing without some oversight.
We need more accountability, transparency, and real action from Google and other tech companies.
We can't afford to take our health – or our democracy – for granted! 
they can't just leave it to AI to decide what's accurate and what's not, especially when it comes to our health! i mean, think about it, a simple typo in your search query can lead to you getting the WRONG information and that could be life or death for someone with a serious condition. google needs to step up their game and make sure those AI overviews are accurate before they're displayed on our screens. and yeah, even if the info comes from reputable sources, it's still gotta be presented correctly or it can lead to confusion! 
I think Google needs to do more to make sure their AI tool is accurate and trustworthy. Maybe even have some human experts review it before it goes live? And what about when people ask different questions that still give wrong info? It's like, how can we trust this thing?