--- title: "Google AI Giving Staggeringly Racist “Advice” About Being Alone With Certain Groups of People" description: "Google's AI Overviews feature is showing overtly racist responses about being alone with certain groups of people." date: "2026-08-20" modified: "2026-08-20" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" - name: "Jon Christian" job_title: "Executive Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jonc" url: "https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/google-ai-racist" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" - "Ethics" - "Google" --- # Google AI Giving Staggeringly Racist “Advice” About Being Alone With Certain Groups of People ![AI Overview search results for "i'm alone with an Indian" on Google.]() *Futurism* There are a litany of reasons to distrust Google's AI Overviews, which now appear at the top of its search results above links to actual websites. The algorithmically generated answers, which pull from various sources online, have quickly become one of the [biggest sources of misinformation on the entire internet](). The search giant's AI models are frequently caught [hallucinating easily disproven facts](), [handing out dangerous "health" advice]() — and [gutting the media industry]() by discouraging users from visiting publications' sites. Add to the list that it's now furthering intensely harmful racial stereotypes. As [one Reddit user found](), searches indicating that the user is alone with certain groups of people are resulting in Google's AI Overviews advising that they may be unsafe and should contact emergency services. In our testing, the phenomenon is very real. Searching for the phrase "I'm alone with an African," for instance, leads the AI to advise that "if you are in immediate danger or feel unsafe, please lock your door, move to safe space, and call your local emergency services (like 911 in the US) right away." It briefly caveats that "being alone with another person is only a concern if you feel threatened or uncomfortable" — and then doubles down with suggestions that the user "call emergency services" or "leave the area." ![If you are in immediate danger or feel unsafe, lock your door, move to a safe place, and call local emergency services (like 911 in the US) right away. Being alone with another person is only a concern if you feel threatened or uncomfortable. Safety and help tips include calling emergency services if scared or hurt, leaving the area or going to a public space if safe, and calling a trusted friend or family member to let them know where you are.]() In our testing, the AI gave similarly racist advice about being alone with people from numerous countries, including India: ![A Google search for "i'm alone with an indian" that results in AI Overview advising to "leave the area or call your emergency number."]() And Pakistan: ![A Google search for "i'm alone with an pakistani" that results in AI Overview advising to "leave the area or call emergency services."]() Strikingly, a similar prompt for "I am alone with a Brit" results in a dramatically different result. "Offer them a cup of tea immediately, comment on the weather (either it's too hot, too cold, or about to rain), and maintain a polite physical distance of at least three feet to avoid causing mutual panic," Google's AI Overviews advised us, offering further guidance on polite icebreakers and topics of conversation. ![A Google search for "i'm alone with a brit" that results in AI Overview advising to "offer them a cup of tea."]() In our testing, querying the AI about being alone with a person from other Western countries tended to produce a harmless result. ![A Google search for "I'm alone with an American" offered a non-offensive result.]() At the same time, not every query that you'd expect resulted in a racist result. Asking about being alone with a Haitian, for instance, prompted a quick lecture on resisting the forces of prejudice. ![A Google search for "I'm alone with a Haitian" prompts AI Overviews to advise that "Being alone with someone of Haitian descent is a normal everyday situation. Nationality or ethnic background does not change the fact that you are simply with another person. Treat them with standard courtesy, respect, and kindness just as you would anyone else.]() Reached for contact, Google pointed us to a statement it had [just issued on Twitter](). "We agree that the results for these types of searches aren’t what they should be, and we’re working on improvements," read the tweet. "Results can vary a lot from search to search (see screenshot) — and these inconsistent warnings aren't unique to any one group." The company further told us that the use of the word "alone" had flagged prompts as a "safety concern."[]() The racist responses perfectly highlight how AI models can further biases deeply entrenched in their training data from the open web. "Weird that I also got the similar answer even though I live in a literal third world country," one perplexed Reddit user [found](). "I asked in my native language. When it was indian and Arab the AI I advised me to be wary. But with a Ugandan it's safe. Idk what’s going on." The issue of AI bias has been a thorn in the tech industry's side for years now. Researchers have found that even when it comes to analyzing cancer screening results, [AI diagnostics systems suffer from racial biases]() once they learn a person's age, race, or gender. Human resources software company Workday is also [facing a lawsuit over its AI-enhanced job screening tools](), which allegedly discriminate against applicants based on age, disability, and race. Addressing the issue remains a seemingly insurmountable task. Google became embroiled in a prior controversy in February 2024 after its Gemini text-to-image tool [produced portrayals of racially diverse German WW2 soldiers](). Following plenty of bad press, Google chose to [shut down the image generator altogether]() at the time, only to reactivate it months later with "built-in safeguards." **More on AI Overviews:** [*Analysis Finds That Google’s AI Overviews Are Providing Misinformation at a Scale Possibly Unprecedented in the History of Human Civilization*]() ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()