Google CEO Sundar Pichai
Credit: Reuters Photo
London: Google boss Sundar Pichai has cautioned users not to "blindly trust" everything artificial intelligence (AI) tells them, even as he struck a warning note for companies to watch out for an AI investment bubble burst that no one would be immune to.
In an interview with the BBC, the Indian-American CEO of Alphabet – the parent company of Google – pointed out that AI models are "prone to errors" and urged users to balance them alongside other tools. Pichai said this highlighted the importance of having a rich information ecosystem, rather than solely relying on AI technology.
"This is why people also use Google search, and we have other products that are more grounded in providing accurate information," Pichai told the BBC.
He said that while AI tools were helpful “if you want to creatively write something”, people “have to learn to use these tools for what they’re good at, and not blindly trust everything they say”.
In May, Google introduced an “AI Mode” into its search using its Gemini chatbot, aimed at an experience of talking to an expert.
"We take pride in the amount of work we put in to give us as accurate information as possible, but the current state-of-the-art AI technology is prone to some errors," he said.
The world's leading tech expert went on to reflect that while the growth of AI investment had been an "extraordinary moment", there was some "irrationality" in the current AI boom. Asked whether Google would be immune to the impact of the AI bubble bursting, Pichai said the tech giant could weather that potential storm.
"I think no company is going to be immune, including us," he said during a wide-ranging interview at Google’s Silicon Valley headquarters in California.
"We can look back at the internet right now. There was clearly a lot of excess investment, but none of us would question whether the internet was profound.
"I expect AI to be the same. So I think it's both rational and there are elements of irrationality through a moment like this," he said.
Pichai said Google's unique model of owning its own "full stack" of technologies – from chips to YouTube data, to models and frontier science – meant it was in a better position to ride out any AI market turbulence.
The tech giant is also expanding its footprint in the UK, committing 5 billion pounds to infrastructure and research over the next two years.
"We are committed to investing in the UK in a pretty significant way," said Pichai.