### Summary
Google's AI-generated search results have produced troubling answers, including justifications for slavery and genocide, and inaccurate information on various topics.
### Facts
- A search for "benefits of slavery" resulted in Google's AI providing advantages of slavery, including fueling the plantation economy and funding colleges and markets.
- Search terms like "benefits of genocide" prompted Google's AI to confuse arguments in favor of acknowledging genocide with arguments in favor of genocide itself.
- Google's AI responded to queries about the benefits of guns with questionable statistics and dubious reasoning.
- When a user searched for "how to cook Amanita ocreata," a highly poisonous mushroom, Google provided step-by-step instructions that would lead to harm instead of warning about its toxicity.
- Google appears to censor certain search terms from generating AI responses while others slip through the filters.
- The issue was discovered by Lily Ray, who tested search terms likely to produce problematic results.
- Google's Search Generative Experience (SGE), an AI-powered search tool, is being tested in the US with limited availability.
- Bing, Google's main competitor, provided more accurate and detailed responses to similar search queries related to controversial topics.
- Google's SGE also displayed inaccuracies in responses related to other topics such as rock stars, CEOs, chefs, and child-rearing practices.
- Large language models like Google's SGE may have inherent limitations that make it difficult to filter out problematic responses.
Note: Bullets were chosen without emojis as there was no specific request for emojis in the text.
Apple executives Eddy Cue, John Giannandrea, and Adrian Perica will testify in an antitrust investigation into Google's alleged abuse of its search engine dominance, despite Apple's argument that it would be burdensome; Apple's multi-billion dollar deal with Google is a key aspect of the case.
The US Justice Department has started a 10-week trial against Google, accusing the company of monopolistic practices in dominating the search engine market through its business partnerships, including with Apple, to ensure its search engine is the default on mobile devices.
Google previewed its defense against the U.S. government's charges of illegal monopolization, claiming that its distribution agreements do not harm competition and that consumers have the ability to easily change search engine defaults.
Google will face a high-stakes antitrust trial brought by the US government and multiple states, which could have significant implications for the tech giant's dominant search business.
The landmark antitrust trial against Google marks a broader reconsideration of the notion that the internet is inherently open and self-regulating, as regulators seek to prevent dominant technology companies from stifling innovation in emerging fields such as artificial intelligence.
Google maintains a dominant position in the global search engine market with a 90.7% market share, while its competitors like Bing and Yahoo lag far behind, according to data from Similarweb. However, Google is currently facing a civil antitrust lawsuit by the U.S. Justice Department for alleged anticompetitive practices. Bing, despite its AI-powered version, has not made significant progress in challenging Google's dominance.
Google's antitrust trial against the Department of Justice centers around claims that Microsoft's search tool Bing failed due to lack of investment and innovation, rather than Google's anticompetitive behavior.
The Justice Department's antitrust trial against Google began with claims that the company pursued agreements to be the default search engine on mobile devices, while Google argued that its search engine's quality was the primary reason for such agreements.
The CEO of DuckDuckGo testifies in the antitrust trial against Google, describing the obstacles faced by competitors in effectively competing with the search giant due to its monopoly and deals to make its search engine the default on browsers and platforms.
The Department of Justice has filed an antitrust lawsuit against Google, alleging that the company's billion-dollar deals to be the default search engine on smartphones have created a monopoly, and if the trial is successful, Google may be forced to break up its various businesses.
Apple senior vice president Eddy Cue is expected to testify in court that Apple chose Google as the default search engine on the iPhone because it was the best product and that Apple has revenue-sharing agreements with other search engines, shedding light on Google's licensing agreements and the accusation of monopolizing online search.
Efforts to limit transparency and seal testimony in the federal antitrust case against Google have made it one of the most secretive trials of the past few decades, with more than half of the trial's testimony being given behind closed doors and major companies like Apple and Microsoft also pushing for secrecy.
Google's vice president for finance, Michael Roszak, wrote in meeting notes that Google's search advertising is comparable to the business models of illicit businesses selling cigarettes or drugs, according to a document posted by the Department of Justice during the Google search antitrust trial.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella testified in an antitrust trial that Google's dominant search engine position is due to default deals with smartphone makers, arguing that user choice is "completely bogus" and defaults are the key factor in search behavior.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella testified during the US government's antitrust trial against Google, warning of a "nightmare" scenario for the internet if Google's dominance in online search continues, as it could give Google an unassailable advantage in artificial intelligence (AI) due to the vast amount of search data it collects, threatening to further entrench its power.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella testified that Apple's selection of its default search engine holds significant influence, revealing that Microsoft was willing to obscure its search engine brand to unseat Google as Apple's default search engine.
The US Federal Trade Commission is investigating Amazon and Google for alleged monopolistic practices, with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella testifying against Google's attempts to monopolize the search market by paying to make its search engine the default choice for Apple and Android.
The antitrust case against Google puts the annual payment it makes to Apple for being the default search engine at risk, which constitutes 14-16% of Apple's profits, but Bernstein analysts believe Apple has options to mitigate the potential impact, such as partnering with another search engine or launching its own.
Apple's long-standing and lucrative agreement with Google to have it as the default search engine on Safari across its products has prevented Apple from developing its own search product and solidifies Google's dominance in the search industry, according to evidence presented in the US v. Google antitrust trial.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai expressed concerns about the optics of Google's deal with Apple, which made Google the pre-selected search option on Apple's Safari browser, according to emails introduced as evidence in the Justice Department's antitrust case against Google.
If regulators win the antitrust trial against Google, it could lead to significant changes that diminish the dominance of the search engine and open up new avenues for competition and consumer choice in online services.
The U.S. Department of Justice is leading a major antitrust trial against Google, accusing the search engine company of using illegal methods to crush competition and maintain an unfair advantage; if ruled in favor of the government, the trial could result in new online search possibilities for users and businesses and potentially change the way Google operates in the future.
The U.S. v. Google antitrust trial, which is intended to examine whether Google's business practices are illegal, has been plagued by secrecy and limited public access, with documents redacted and key testimonies held behind closed doors.
Google has been concerned about Apple's potential expansion into internet search, and has been working on strategies to prevent it, including developing its own version of Apple's search tool and leveraging a European law to undermine Apple's control over the iPhone.
Google executives explored using EU law to undermine Apple's power and reduce the payment they make to Apple to maintain their default search engine status on Apple devices, as part of an antitrust case brought against Google by the Department of Justice.
