Pearson Airport warns AI articles are sharing 'inaccurate' information about its operations

Pearson Airport warns AI articles are sharing 'inaccurate' information about its operations

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Toronto Pearson Airport is warning the public about a spike in "AI-generated articles" that are posting inaccurate information about its operations.

In an emailed statement Friday, Erica Vella, a spokesperson with the Greater Toronto Airports Authority, said that "bot authors" are putting out "upward of 100 articles a day with false figures, no attempted verification and misleading context that implies system-wide cascades."

Vella said the information is published on "clickbait sites" and that passengers should not rely on them for information.

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Sean Davidson, spokesperson for Toronto Pearson, said the articles talk about airport operations in "a way that's simply not accurate."

For example, one article warned of a technology outage at airports across Canada that was causing travel chaos for passengers, when in reality that "was not the case," he said.

Davidson said the most reliable way for passengers to find out about their flight status is directly through the airline they're traveling with or Pearson's official website.

He also said Pearson has been coordinating with other airports across Canada and North America on the issue, noting that the airport has reached out to the outlets publishing the AI content.