Don’t ‘blindly’ trust AI – Google boss

Artificial Intelligence models are “prone to some errors” and should be used alongside other tools, Sundar Pichai has told the BBC

Artificial intelligence engines remain vulnerable in terms of factual accuracy and should not be blindly trusted, the CEO of Google and its parent company Alphabet, Sundar Pichai, has warned.

In an interview with the BBC aired on Tuesday, Pichai urged users to rely on a broad range of search tools rather than depending solely on AI.

AI tools are helpful “if you want to creatively write something,” but users “have to learn to use these tools for what they’re good at, and not blindly trust everything they say,” he said. “The current state-of-the-art AI technology is prone to some errors.” 

This comes as Google prepares to unveil its next major AI model, Gemini 3.0. Pichai has said the new AI assistant is expected to be released by the end of the year.

Launched in 2023, Gemini received criticism for its restrictive ‘safety’ and ‘diversity’ settings, which produced glaring inaccuracies in its image-generation outputs. The model was widely ridiculed for misrepresenting historical figures ranging from America’s founding fathers and Russian emperors to Catholic popes and even Nazi German soldiers.

Earlier this month, Google was accused of secretly enabling Gemini to collect user data without consent. A lawsuit filed in a California federal court claimed the company allowed the AI assistant to illegally intercept and monitor private communications across Gmail, chat, and video-conferencing services.

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The rapid rise of AI technologies has driven up valuations across the sector, prompting warnings in Silicon Valley and beyond of a potential bubble as companies spend heavily to secure a foothold in the booming industry. The tech giants have been racing to keep pace with services such as ChatGPT, which have challenged Google’s dominance in online search and accelerated investment across the field.

Spending on AI among major tech companies is estimated at around $400 billion a year.

Asked whether Google would be immune if an AI bubble were to burst, Pichai replied: “I think no company is going to be immune, including us.”