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New Delhi: Sundar Pichai has given one of his strongest public warnings about the state of artificial intelligence, saying people should not “blindly trust” AI tools and adding that no company, including Google, would escape the impact if an AI investment bubble bursts. His comments come at a time when the global AI market is under intense scrutiny and valuations of major tech firms continue to rise at a fast pace.
The Alphabet and Google chief spoke to the BBC at the company’s California headquarters. His remarks hit multiple themes that have been circulating in Silicon Valley for months. We all have heard versions of this worry from analysts and even a few developers who say the pace of investment feels a little too similar to what they remember from old dotcom stories. Pichai’s words seem to echo that mood, only with more weight behind them.
Pichai made it clear that even as AI becomes more powerful, users should treat it as “one more source of information” and not a replacement for everything else. He said, “people have to learn to use these tools for what they’re good at, and not blindly trust everything they say.”
Speaking about accuracy, he pointed out that Google invests heavily in improving information quality but admitted that “the current state of the art AI technology is prone to some errors.” AI Mode in Google Search, which launched earlier this year, uses the company’s Gemini model to give expert style responses. Pichai said they are proud of the work behind it though users still need a “rich information ecosystem” around them.
The comment reminded me of a conversation I had in June with a group of college students who were using chatbots for assignments. They knew the responses were not always perfect but still used them as shortcuts. Pichai’s warning feels aimed at this wide group of everyday users who now treat AI answers as final.
The BBC interview raised the question that many in the industry quietly discuss. Is the AI boom heading toward a bubble similar to the late 1990s internet surge. Pichai said the moment is “extraordinary” but also has “irrationality.” He added, “I think no company is going to be immune, including us,” when asked whether Google could escape the consequences of a market correction.
He compared the current wave to early internet investment cycles, saying, “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.” His comments echoed former US Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan’s “irrational exuberance” warning from the 1990s.
Some of the market anxiety today comes from the huge deals around OpenAI and the sky high valuations of chip makers like Nvidia. Alphabet’s shares have doubled in value in seven months. Analysts say this climb may not match the actual revenue that AI products generate yet.
Pichai said Google’s approach gives the company more stability if the market faces turbulence. He highlighted the company’s control over its technology chain, saying its strength lies in owning “chips, data, models and frontier science” all under one roof.
The interview also touched on energy concerns, climate deadlines and the company’s UK investment plan. Google has committed to invest 5 billion pounds in infrastructure and research over the next two years. “We are committed to investing in the UK in a pretty significant way,” he said.
The AI boom is shaping everything from computing hardware to jobs. Yet this phase has also created worry among workers about automation and fear among investors about long term sustainability. Pichai’s remarks reflect that tension. He did not dismiss the concerns but described AI as a long term shift that will outlast the noise around it.
On the ground, the story looks more mixed. Some startups have raised huge sums but still struggle with revenue. Everyday users keep adopting AI apps but sometimes pull back when the tools give odd or incorrect responses. Pichai’s warning about not trusting AI blindly feels like an attempt to ground expectations while the rest of the industry keeps running ahead.
