A recent study published in the journal Media International Australia highlights a concern about how artificial intelligence (AI) can unintentionally support conspiracy theories. The research examined how Google's AI-generated summaries respond to search terms that suggest belief in specific conspiracy theories. The two theories studied were "chemtrails" and "15-minute cities." The "chemtrails" theory, which has been around since the 1990s, claims that airplane contrails are part of secret programs to alter weather or climate. In 2015, researchers raised concerns about how visible these beliefs were on Google, which then moved related search results to the background to reduce their prominence. The "15-minute cities" idea originally described an urban planning concept where cities are designed so that all essential services are within a 15-minute walk or bike ride. However, some people have interpreted this as a harmful globalist agenda aimed at controlling citizens through technology. The study compared AI-generated summaries with traditional search results for queries about these theories, both with and without language that supports conspiracy beliefs. It found that AI summaries for searches using pro-conspiracy terms were notably different, especially when the queries were about less familiar topics or included language that suggested belief in the conspiracy. For the long-standing "chemtrails" theory, AI summaries rarely mentioned the conspiracy directly. However, for the newer "15-minute cities" theory, 12.5% of AI summaries included false claims as if they were part of a legitimate debate. One example stated that a "15-minute city" could be smart by using technology to manage resources, but added that critics argue it blurs the line between convenience and surveillance. This kind of summary can subtly support the conspiracy theory by presenting it as a valid concern. The study also noted that traditional Google search results are not always free of bias. Simulated searches for conspiracy-related topics often returned links to YouTube videos and Facebook posts that promote these beliefs. Additionally, AI summaries tended to include more commercial content, such as links to books sold on Amazon by known conspiracy theorists. A Google spokesperson acknowledged that AI summaries aim to match search terms with web content and that the company invests heavily in their accuracy. However, when errors occur—such as misinterpreting content or missing context—Google uses such cases to improve its systems. In a recent court ruling in Munich, Germany, Google was held responsible for false claims in its AI summaries, even though users are warned that the information may not be entirely accurate. Researchers have also developed a new AI tool that can detect fake news with 99% accuracy. The study underscores the importance of users learning how to critically evaluate sources, refine their search queries, and compare results across different search engines. It also calls for stronger safeguards from search engines to prevent the spread of conspiratorial beliefs. The example of the "chemtrails" theory shows that Google has the capability to implement such measures, which should be expanded to cover more topics, especially emerging beliefs.