Robby Starbuck is suing Google, claiming that its AI search tools falsely linked him to sexual assault allegations and white nationalist Richard Spencer.
This is the second case that Starbuck, known for his online campaigns against corporate diversity efforts, has brought against a major tech company over its AI products. In April, Starbuck sued Meta, claiming that its AI falsely insisted that he participated in the January 6th attack on the Capitol and that he had been arrested for a misdemeanor. That suit was settled when Meta hired Starbuck as an advisor to combat “ideological and political bias” in its chatbot.
Google spokesperson José Castañeda told The Verge that the company will “review the complaint when we receive it.” However, he did say that, “most of these claims relate to hallucinations in Bard that we addressed in 2023. Hallucinations are a well known issue for all LLMs, which we disclose and work hard to minimize. But as everyone knows, if you’re creative enough, you can prompt a chatbot to say something misleading.”
The exact terms of the Meta settlement are unknown, but it was part of a string of hires by Meta that seem aimed at quelling furor from the right. Whether or not Starbuck’s suit would have succeeded on its merits is open for debate.
The Wall Street Journal notes that no court in the US has awarded anyone damages in a defamation suit involving an AI chatbot. Conservative radio host Mark Walters sued OpenAI in 2023, claiming that ChatGPT had defamed him by linking him to accusations of fraud and embezzlement. However, the court found in favor of OpenAI, saying that Walters had failed to prove “actual malice.” That being said, LLMs and AI chatbots are very new technologies, and there is still a lack of legal precedent surrounding them.
Starbuck filed suit in the Delaware Superior Court and is seeking $15 million in damages from Google, according to the Wall Street Journal. But chances are he’d be just as happy with a position of influence at the company, as he managed to secure at Meta.
