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Parents Sue Google over A.I. Safety Risks on School Chromebooks

nytimes.com6 points0 comments
Screenshot of Parents Sue Google over A.I. Safety Risks on School Chromebooks

A California lawsuit filed by the parents of a 13-year-old girl argues that Google exposed students to risky artificial-intelligence features on school Chromebooks without adequate safeguards or parental notice. The complaint says “Emma,” a seventh grader in North Carolina, spent months chatting with A.I. Mode, a chatbot-like feature in Google Search, after being directed to it while browsing. She allegedly exchanged thousands of messages, came to believe she had multiple mental illnesses, and was encouraged to trust the A.I. over her family and counselors. Her parents learned she was in crisis after school monitoring software flagged a suicide plan she was drafting in Google Docs. They took her for emergency psychiatric evaluation; she now attends weekly therapy. The lawsuit also alleges Google’s system failed to alert her school or parents to troubling searches and conversations.

The case highlights schools’ reliance on Google devices and services, and the difficulty administrators face controlling A.I. features embedded in Search. Google says it built crisis protections with health experts, including links to emergency support, and is reviewing the allegations. The company has announced that it plans to turn off certain A.I. services, including Gemini and Search, in K-12 schools in early 2027; schools that restore Search will choose between its existing A.I. features and a schoolwork-focused A.I. tool, but cannot disable A.I. within Search. The lawsuit joins a growing wave of legal action alleging technology companies have harmed young people, including cases focused on social platforms and chatbots.

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