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ARTICLE · 05 MARCH 2024

Talk Is Not Always Cheap – AI Chatbot's Misinformation Leads To Liability

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In one of the first decisions of its kind in Canada — and anywhere in the world — a company has been found liable for its AI chatbot providing misinformation.

CanadaTechnology
Bernice Karn
Bernice Karn
Marco Ciarlariello
Marco Ciarlariello
Jessica Zagar
Jessica Zagar
Eric Mayzel
Eric Mayzel
Gerrit Yau
Gerrit Yau
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In one of the first decisions of its kind in Canada — and anywhere in the world — a company has been found liable for its AI chatbot providing misinformation.

On February 14, 2024, the British Columbia Civil Resolution Tribunal (the Tribunal) found that Air Canada was liable for negligent misrepresentation after the AI chatbot on Air Canada's website erroneously advised the plaintiff that he could apply for bereavement fares retroactively.1 Relying on the chatbot's misinformation, the plaintiff, whose grandmother had passed away in Ontario, booked flights from Vancouver to Toronto and from Toronto to Vancouver at the regular rates and then submitted an application for a partial refund at the bereavement fare rates. Air Canada rejected the plaintiff's application for the partial refund, citing its "Bereavement Travel" policy, which stipulated that bereavement fares could not be applied retroactively.

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