Introduction to AI and Search
In a recent interview with the BBC, Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Google, emphasized that AI is not a standalone source of information. He affirmed that AI works together with search and that AI and Search have their uses. Pichai also said that AI is not a replacement for either search, the information ecosystem, or actual subject matter experts.
Misinterpretation of Pichai’s Remarks
A number of tweets and articles mischaracterized Pichai’s remarks, including a BBC News social media post summarizing the interview with the line, “Don’t blindly trust what AI tells you.” This phrasing misleadingly suggests that Pichai said don’t trust AI. But that’s not what Pichai meant. His full answer emphasized that AI is not a standalone source of information, that the information ecosystem is greater than that.
Tweet By BBC News
The BBC News tweet stated, "Don’t blindly trust what AI tells you, says Google’s Sundar Pichai." This tweet was misleading and did not accurately represent Pichai’s statement.
AI Makes Mistakes, That’s Why There’s Grounding
Sundar Pichai had just finished describing how AI will, in a few years time, usher in new opportunities and create new kinds of jobs based on what humans can do with AI. He used the example of envisioning a feature-length movie. In response to that statement, the interviewer challenged Pichai with a question about the fallibility of AI, saying that what Pichai described is built on the assumption that AI works.
Pichai’s statement was broadly about how people will use AI in a few years time. The interviewer’s question was narrowly focused on the accuracy and truth of AI. The conversation between the interviewer and Pichai contained this dynamic, where the interviewer kept narrowing the focus to AI in isolation and Pichai kept broadening the focus to the wider information ecosystem within which AI exists.
The interviewer kept pressing Pichai with variations of the same narrow question, such as:
- Is AI reliable?
- Doesn’t AI make information less reliable?
- Shouldn’t Google be held responsible because this model was invented there?
Pichai repeatedly answered by placing AI within a wider context, stating that: - AI is not the only system people use.
- Search and other grounded sources remain essential.
- Journalism, doctors, teachers, and other experts matter.
- The information ecosystem is larger than AI.
Use Tools For What They’re Good At
Pichai explained that AI and Search are tools that people use for different purposes. The point he is making is that AI is not a standalone technology that has replaced Search. He said to use each tool for “what they’re good at.” Pichai stated, "Today, I think, we take pride in the amount of work we put in to give as accurate information as possible. But the current state-of-the-art AI technology is prone to some errors. This is why people also use Google Search, and we have other products which are more grounded in providing accurate information, right? But the same tools are helpful if you want to creatively write something. So you have to learn to use these tools for what they’re good at and not blindly trust everything they say.”
Not One Standalone System: The Information Ecosystem Matters
The interviewer echoed Pichai’s statement about not blindly trusting then challenged him again about reliability. Pichai returned to his first answer, that AI is not all that there is, that AI is just one source of information from a great many sources, including from actual human experts. Pichai explained, "I think if you only construct systems standalone, and you only rely on that, that would be true. Which is why I think we have to make the information ecosystem… has to be much richer than just having AI technology being the sole product in it. Truth matters. Journalism matters. All of the surrounding things we have today matters, right? So if you’re a student, you’re talking to your teacher. If as a consumer, you’re going to a doctor, you want to trust your doctor. Yeah, all of that matters.”
Conclusion
Pichai’s point is that AI exists within a larger world of tools, human knowledge, and expertise, not as a replacement for it. His emphasis on teachers, doctors, and journalism shows that human expertise remains a high standard for truth and accuracy. Pichai declined to answer questions in a way that treated AI as the sole system for answers. Instead, he kept emphasizing that AI is only one part of where we get information. The deeper message is about how he, and by extension, Google, views AI as one tool out of many. To understand the true meaning of Pichai’s statement, it’s essential to watch the interview and consider the context in which he made his remarks.