AI technologies continue to permeate every aspect of Google services, regardless of user consent. The company’s latest test is taking place on Google Discover, the daily news source for millions of Android users. Recently, it was revealed that the headlines of some articles listed in the Google Discover feed were being altered by AI. However, this has sparked a new debate in the tech world about content accuracy.

Google Discover is replacing news headlines with AI

During this test, spotted by The Verge, it was found that publishers’ original headlines were replaced with new headlines generated by AI. Unfortunately, some of these new headlines contained misleading or completely false information. For example, Ars Technica’s article, “Valve’s Steam Machine looks like a console, but don’t expect the price,” was rewritten by AI to read “Steam Machine price announced.”

However, no pricing information has yet been shared in the article itself or in any statements made by hardware manufacturer Valve. Similarly, Engadget editors also discovered during their review that some content retained its original titles but contained AI-generated summaries underneath. In both cases, Google added a small warning label warning that the content was generated by AI and may contain errors.

Google spokesperson Mallory Deleon confirmed that these examples were an interface experiment involving a small portion of Discover users. The company states that the purpose of this design change is to make it easier for users to understand the subject details before clicking on links. However, publishers appear unsatisfied with Google’s extensive content manipulation and its role as an intermediary between readers and publishers.

Google’s relationship with publishers and media organizations is already on delicate ground due to copyright and revenue sharing issues. Meanwhile, there are also improvements for those who want to see more AI in the Google Search experience. Company executives announced that the “AI Mode” feature, criticized by the News Media Association, has been more integrated into the mobile search platform and is being tested on the same screen as the “AI Overview” feature, rather than in separate tabs.

What do you think about Google’s use of artificial intelligence to change news headlines? Do you think this will increase the spread of misinformation?