DIDSBURY – The Didsbury Aquatic Centre’s management has a message for its patrons: take with a big grain of salt any information generated by Google’s AI overview.
Better yet, confirm any information presented as the result of an online search by checking the municipality’s official website where the schedule can be found by selecting the Parks & Recreation tab then clicking on the Didsbury Aquatic Centre, or even verifying by contacting the indoor pool’s staff.
Town of Didsbury staff advised the public on July 29 it had received reports that Google AI was providing incorrect information.
“A lady came in to swim, and she had the wrong time,” Lisa Bastarache, the municipality’s communications coordinator, told the Albertan.
“Instead of going to our website, she just Googled it and that was the first thing that popped up so that was the schedule she went with and, of course, it was incorrect,” Bastarache said.
“It didn’t resemble any of our schedules, so I’m not sure where (Google) even got it from.”
Unfortunately, the patron had travelled a distance anticipating they would be able to enjoy some time in the pool.
“It wasn’t like she was walking across the street, she had driven into town to go swimming.”
Bastarache has been in her position for approximately three years and was unaware of any such situations previously occurring.
“Not that I know of – this is the first time that it’s been brought to my attention,” she said.
To avoid arriving at the pool during the wrong time, she urges swimmers to check the schedule at the source.
“We encourage people to check on our website; any information up there is going to be the correct and most up-to-date information.”
Although not necessarily frequently, the schedules are subject to change and can occasionally be revised.
The municipality also plans to take measures to reduce the likelihood of repeat incidents.
“During the ice season, we post our arena schedules every Monday on Facebook and Instagram,” she said.
“We’ll start doing that with the swimming ones as well, just in case it’s easier for some people to look on Facebook rather than go and check from the website.”
People who regularly use the internet are advised that generally speaking, any information presented by search engines that use auto-generated AI features should be cautious. Google search results that come with an AI overview even include a fine-print disclaimer underneath stating that “AI responses may include mistakes.”