Google chief executive Sundar Pichai has urged users not to “blindly trust’’ the outputs of artificial intelligence tools, acknowledging that AI models remain prone to factual mistakes. His comments come at a time when global technology giants are racing to integrate AI deeper into search, smartphones and productivity tools, often faster than regulatory frameworks can keep up.
In a BBC interview, Pichai — who heads Alphabet, Google’s parent company — said users must treat AI as one tool among many, rather than a single source of truth. “People have to learn to use these tools for what they’re good at, and not blindly trust everything they say,” he said. Despite heavy investments in accuracy and safety, “the current state-of-the-art AI technology is prone to some errors”.
Google has faced sustained criticism over factual mistakes in its products, particularly after the launch of AI Overviews in search, which drew mockery for several incorrect or bizarre responses. The company now displays disclaimers warning users that AI-generated answers can be wrong — but experts say that is not enough.
Gina Neff, professor of responsible AI at Queen Mary University of London, told the BBC that big tech firms should improve reliability instead of asking people to fact-check their machines. “These systems make up answers to please us — and that’s a problem,” she said. While harmless when recommending films, the risks rise sharply with questions about health, science or news.
Google is currently rolling out Gemini 3.0, its latest consumer AI model, which is beginning to claw back market share from ChatGPT. The company has also embedded an AI Mode in Google Search, allowing users to interact with the Gemini chatbot inside search results — a move Pichai earlier described as a “new phase in the AI platform shift”.
The global battle for AI dominance has implications for India’s fast-growing digital economy, where millions of students, traders and small enterprises rely heavily on online search. Kerala’s own digital adoption surge — from MSMEs using AI-assisted marketing to students leaning on chatbots for learning — makes reliability concerns even more relevant.
A BBC investigation this year found that major AI chatbots — including Google’s Gemini, OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Microsoft’s Copilot and Perplexity — produced “significant inaccuracies’’ when summarising BBC news articles. Pichai acknowledged tensions between rapid technological progress and safety safeguards. Alphabet, he said, aims to be “bold and responsible at the same time”, and has increased investments in AI security in proportion to its AI R&D spending.
Google is also open-sourcing tools that help users detect whether an image is AI-generated — a step aimed at addressing misinformation and deepfake concerns, a growing political and social risk in India ahead of multiple state elections next year.
Commenting on old remarks by Elon Musk expressing fears that DeepMind (now part of Google) could create an AI “dictatorship”, Pichai said that no single firm should have exclusive control over such powerful technologies. “If there was only one company building AI technology and everyone else had to use it, I would be concerned too. But we are far from that scenario,” he said.
As AI tools proliferate across industries — from banking and retail to media — Pichai’s cautionary message underscores the need for users, businesses and regulators to balance speed with scepticism.
