A Minnesota Company Takes on the Internet’s Biggest Search Engine

Transcript

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HOST: You're listening to North Star Stories: Voices from Where We Live, a daily newscast about what it means to live in Minnesota.

ANCHOR: In today's stories, Mankato approves the use of A.I. cameras despite privacy concerns. Then, a Minnesota company takes on the internet's biggest search engine. And, new technology showcases stores from the state's Two-Spirit and LGBTQIA+ communities.

I'm Gracie J.

Mankato's City Council approved police to use surveillance cameras with artificial intelligence, also known as A.I, despite pushback from some residents. The plan adds automated license plate readers to squad cars and expands real-time video monitoring downtown. City leaders rejected more aggressive proposals like mobile camera trailers and access to a national database, but say the AI expansion is just the first phase. Critics warned the move could threaten privacy and erode trust, especially if data sharing grows beyond local use. The council will review the program in six months.

Next, a local solar company is suing a tech giant after their Artificial Intelligence search tool produced incorrect information about the company. Kylie Kendal with the details.

Kylie Kendall: Solar company Wolf River Electric was doing business as usual when it noticed a sudden and dramatic increase in cancelations.

Vladimir Marchenko: And just through talking to our customers as we're trying to figure out what is going on, we started to discover these issues.

Kylie Kendall: Vladimir Marchenko is the CEO and one of three founders of the company, which is based in Isanti, about 30 miles north of the Twin Cities. Google's artificial intelligence technology, the AI Overview, is now the top result for searches on the platform. It published that Minnesota's Attorney General sued Wolf River Electric. But it wasn't true. The Attorney General did sue four solar-lending companies in Minnesota, but Wolf River wasn't one of them. The company was only mentioned in articles and a press release about the lawsuits. But that's all it took for Google's AI. The AI claimed Wolf River was sued for deceptive sales practices and was banned from doing business in Minnesota.

Vladimir Marchenko: But we have been working so hard to build up our reputation. It was just very devastating.

Kylie Kendall: He said they believed the company lost 1000s of customers from Google's misinformation.

Vladimir Marchenko: I mean, we do, like, 2000 residential homes, you know, in one year, and to see our cancelation rates skyrocketing to 50% I mean, it was huge.

Kylie Kendall: Through Google's feedback feature, Wolf River reported the AI error and sent it out to their customers to set things right. But the damage continued.

Vladimir Marchenko: It continues to evolve, where the key phrase just changes, and it still produces the same negative, inaccurate results about us.

Kylie Kendal: The auto complete predictions, the results that show up when you start typing into Google, is another extension of AI. Justin Nielsen, another Wolf River founder, said this made the issue even worse.

Justin Nielsen: And so people will type in Wolf River, and all of a sudden you'll see Wolf River lawsuit.

Kylie Kendall: Nielsen says the misinformation kept spiraling and the reputational harm kept growing.

Nick Kasprowicz: And at that point, Wolf River Electric decided to move forward with a lawsuit.

Kylie Kendall: Wolf River sued Google for defamation. Google requested and got the case moved to federal court. They did not respond to our request for a comment. Nick Kasprowicz, Wolf River's attorney, is trying to get the case back to state court.

Nick Kasprowicz: We want to be in our own jurisdiction. We want to be in the state of Minnesota. That's where we're out, and that's where based out.

Kylie Kendall: Marchenko says the lawsuit shines a light on the broader impact of AI. Just

Vladimir Marchenko: Just the whole design of the AI review, it's very deceitful, and it's very confusing to us. Obviously, it seems like a defective product.

Kylie Kendall: Marchenko says AI needs more regulations and guidelines, especially for a company as widely used as Google.

Vladimir Marchenko: It's like there's no Terms and Conditions. Nobody has to opt in or out of it. It's just being forced onto you as the consumer. And I mean, Google has such a crazy authority.

Kylie Kendall: Justin Nielsen says that since AI is here to stay, this lawsuit isn't just for Wolf River, but for all small businesses.

Justin Nielsen: What we really want here is to make sure that this doesn't happen to other local businesses that might not have the means and the resources of making sure their voice is heard.

Kylie Kendall: The case is expected to move forward in the next couple of weeks. This is Kylie Kendall for North Star Stories.

ANCHOR: You are listening to North Star Stories.

A new digital storytelling map is shining a light on the untold stories of Two-Spirit and LGBTQIA+ communities in Minnesota. Developed by the Minnesota Historical Society, the interactive Greater Minnesota Two-Spirit and LGBTQIA+ History Map explores the history of these communities dating back to the 1800s. The map features first-person narratives, historic milestones, and community spaces across the entire state of Minnesota that are often overlooked in traditional history books. To explore the map, visit MNHS dot ORG slash LGBTQIA.

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HOST: North Star Stories is produced by AMPERS, diverse radio for Minnesota's communities, with support from the McKnight Foundation and the State of Minnesota. Online at ampers dot org.