Experts say a ruling on Air Canada's liability for what its chatbot said shows how companies need to be cautious when relying on the technology. An Air Canada jet taxis at the airport in Vancouver, B.C., Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
TORONTO – Experts say a ruling on Air Canada’s liability for what its chatbot said shows how companies need to be cautious when relying on artificial intelligence.
A B.C. small claims court decision issued Wednesday showed that Air Canada tried to deny liability when its chatbot gave misleading information about the airline’s bereavement fares.
Tribunal member Christopher Rivers said in his decision that it should be obvious Air Canada is responsible for the information on its website, and in this case the airline did not take reasonable care to ensure its chatbot was accurate.
Ira Parghi, a lawyer with expertise in information and AI law, says companies relying on automated systems need to be careful on what they include in the services, and to get it right.
She says that while there are cases where artificial intelligence is getting ahead of the law, in this instance, conventional tort law covered the issues well as an issue of negligent misrepresentation.
Brent Arnold, a partner at Gowling WLG, says that as companies, including in areas like finance, rely more on chatbots they have to be careful of both regulatory and civil liability risks.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 15, 2024.
Companies in this story: (TSX:AC)
