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Google’s AI Overviews falsely link Airbus to Air India crash; company responds
The mix-up underscores the challenges tech companies face in rolling out generative AI for real-time search—particularly when accuracy is crucial in sensitive news events.
The mix-up underscores the challenges tech companies face in rolling out generative AI for real-time search—particularly when accuracy is crucial in sensitive news events.
Google’s AI Overviews feature has come under fire for inaccurately identifying the aircraft involved in the recent Air India crash near Ahmedabad. While initial reports and official confirmations stated that the ill-fated Flight AI 171 was a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, AI-generated summaries on Google Search incorrectly labeled it as an “Airbus A330.”
The error was first flagged by Ars Technica, which noted that the AI system likely confused contextual mentions of “Airbus” in competing industry coverage with the actual aircraft involved. The crash, which killed 241 people on board, is among the worst air disasters in India’s aviation history.
AI Overviews is designed to provide quick, summarized answers to user queries. However, the incident exposed a persistent limitation of such tools: a tendency to "hallucinate" or conflate unrelated details when processing large volumes of data.
Responding to the issue, a Google spokesperson acknowledged the mistake and said the incorrect response had been taken down. “As with all Search features, we rigorously make improvements and use examples like this to update our systems,” the statement read. “This response is no longer showing. We maintain a high-quality bar with all Search features, and the accuracy rate for AI Overviews is on par with other features like Featured Snippets.”
The mix-up underscores the challenges tech companies face in rolling out generative AI for real-time search—particularly when accuracy is crucial in sensitive news events.
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