Air Canada found liable for chatbot's bad advice on plane tickets [View all]

Source: CBC News

Air Canada found liable for chatbot's bad advice on plane tickets

Airline's claim that online helper was responsible for its own actions was 'remarkable': small claims court

Jason Proctor · CBC News · Posted: Feb 15, 2024 3:38 PM EST | Last Updated: 1 hour ago

Air Canada has been ordered to pay compensation to a grieving grandchild who claimed they were misled into purchasing full-price flight tickets by an ill-informed chatbot.

In an argument that appeared to flabbergast a small claims adjudicator in British Columbia, the airline attempted to distance itself from its own chatbot's bad advice by claiming the online tool was "a separate legal entity that is responsible for its own actions."

"This is a remarkable submission," Civil Resolution Tribunal (CRT) member Christopher Rivers wrote.

"While a chatbot has an interactive component, it is still just a part of Air Canada's website. It should be obvious to Air Canada that it is responsible for all the information on its website. It makes no difference whether the information comes from a static page or a chatbot."

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Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/air-canada-chatbot-lawsuit-1.7116416