Google Is Turning Into a Libel Machine

A few weeks ago, I witnessed Google Search make what could have been the most expensive error in its history. In response to a query about cheating in chess, Google's new AI Overview told me that the young American player Hans Niemann had "admitted to using an engine," or a chess-playing AI, after defeating Magnus Carlsen in 2022--implying that Niemann had confessed to cheating against the world's top-ranked player. Suspicion about the American's play against Carlsen that September indeed sparked controversy, one that reverberated even beyond the world of professional chess, garnering mainstream news coverage and the attention of Elon Musk. Except, Niemann admitted no such thing. Quite the opposite: He has vigorously defended himself against the allegations, going so far as to file a 100 million defamation lawsuit against Carlsen and several others who had accused him of cheating or punished him for the unproven allegation--Chess.com, for example, had banned Niemann from its website and tournaments.