London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Sep 04, 2025

Google boss Sundar Pichai admits AI dangers 'keep me up at night'

Google boss Sundar Pichai admits AI dangers 'keep me up at night'

Google has started rolling out its own chatbot called Bard. It's a large language model, trained on huge amounts of data, to help it understand text inputs and respond. Its direct competition is Microsoft's revamped Bing, which has rolled OpenAI's ChatGPT technology into its search engine.
Google's chief executive had admitted the potential dangers of AI development "keep me up at night".

Sundar Pichai said the technology "can be very harmful if deployed wrongly" and backed growing calls for regulation amid concern about its impact on jobs, privacy, and how information is shared online.

"We don't have all the answers there yet - and the technology is moving fast," he told CBS's 60 Minutes programme.

"So does that keep me up at night? Absolutely."

Google fast-tracked its plans for ChatGPT-style features in its products and services after being caught out by the sudden success of OpenAI's model, which now has more than 100 million monthly users.

The technology has since been implemented into Microsoft's Bing search engine, threatening Google's long-held dominance in the field like never before.

Google launched its direct competitor, Bard, earlier this year - a major step for a company that had been cautious about allowing the public to interact with its AI.

Bard is powered by LaMDA, which can generate prose so human-like that a company engineer last year called it sentient - a claim the company and scientists widely dismissed.

Google does not 'fully understand' AI's answers

Like ChatGPT, Bard is a large language model trained on huge amounts of data to interpret text and respond to questions and prompts. However, both have also been shown capable of making factual errors.

Mr Pichai admitted Google still does not "fully understand" why Bard produces certain responses.

"There is an aspect of this which we call, all of us in the field call it... a 'black box'," he said.

"You don't fully understand. And you can't quite tell why it said this, or why it got this wrong."

But Mr Pichai said despite his concerns, AI development would only continue to accelerate - and eventually impact "every product across every company", from healthcare to creative industries.

Google itself has already added Bard features to apps like Docs, and The New York Times reports the company will launch an entirely new search engine powered by the technology.

Mr Pichai said it would be down to governments to figure out how best to regulate it.

How governments are approaching AI

The UK government has said it will take a light approach to regulating AI, saying any attempt to legislate now will quickly be out of date.

But in the US, the White House is inviting public feedback on how AI should be regulated to protect jobs and privacy, while China has already published draft rules outlining its own approach.

Last month, Italy became the first country to outright ban ChatGPT while the country's data protection authorities investigated its collection of user information.

It came after Elon Musk joined hundreds of AI experts in calling for a pause in the development of the technology, warning that it posed "profound risks to society".

But Musk has since revealed plans to build his own ChatGPT rival.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Putin Celebrates ‘Unprecedentedly High’ Ties with China as Gazprom Seals Power of Siberia-2 Deal
China Unveils New Weapons in Grand Military Parade as Xi Hosts Putin and Kim
Queen Camilla’s Teenage Courage: Fended Off Attempted Assault on London Train, New Biography Reveals
Scottish Brothers Set Record in Historic Pacific Row
Rapper Cardi B Cleared of Liability in Los Angeles Civil Assault Trial
Google Avoids Break-Up in U.S. Antitrust Case as Stocks Rise
Couple celebrates 80th wedding anniversary at assisted living facility in Lancaster
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
The White House on LinkedIn Has Changed Their Profile Picture to Donald Trump
"Insulted the Prophet Muhammad": Woman Burned Alive by Angry Mob in Niger State, Nigeria
Trump Responds to Death Rumors – Announces 'Missile City'
Court of Appeal Allows Asylum Seekers to Remain at Essex Hotel Amid Local Tax Boycott Threats
Germany in Turmoil: Ukrainian Teenage Girl Pushed to Death by Illegal Iraqi Migrant
United Krack down on human rights: Graham Linehan Arrested at Heathrow Over Three X Posts, Hospitalised, Released on Bail with Posting Ban
Asian and Middle Eastern Investors Avoid US Markets
Ray Dalio Warns of US Shift to Autocracy
Eurozone Inflation Rises to 2.1% in August
Russia and China Sign New Gas Pipeline Deal
China's Robotics Industry Fuels Export Surge
Suntory Chairman Resigns After Police Probe
Gold Price Hits New All-Time Record
Von der Leyen's Plane Hit by Suspected Russian GPS Interference in an Incident Believed to Be Caused by Russia or by Pro-Peace or by Anti-Corruption European Activists
UK Fintechs Explore Buying US Banks
Greece Suspends 5% of Schools as Birth Rate Drops
Apollo to Launch $5 Billion Sports Investment Vehicle
Bolsonaro Trial Nears Close Amid US-Brazil Tension
European Banks Push for Lower Cross-Border Barriers
Poland's Offshore Wind Sector Attracts Investors
Nvidia Reveals: Two Mystery Customers Account for About 40% of Revenue
Woody Allen: "I Would Be Happy to Direct Trump Again in a Film"
Pickles are the latest craze among Generation Z in the United States.
Deadline Day Delivers Record £125m Isak Move and Donnarumma to City
Nestlé Removes CEO Laurent Freixe Following Undisclosed Relationship with Subordinate
Giuliani Seriously Injured in Accident – Trump to Award Him the Presidential Medal of Freedom
EU is getting aggressive: Four AfD Candidates Die Unexpectedly Ahead of North Rhine-Westphalia Local Elections
Lula and Putin Hold Strategic BRICS Discussions Ahead of Trump–Putin Summit
WhatsApp is rolling out a feature that looks a lot like Telegram.
Investigations Reveal Rise in ‘Sex-for-Rent’ Listings Across Canada Exploiting Vulnerable Tenants
Chinese and Indian Leaders Pursue Amity Amid Global Shifts
European Union Plans for Ukraine Deployment
ECB Warns Against Inflation Complacency
Concerns Over North Cyprus Casino Development
Shipping Companies Look Beyond Chinese Finance
Rural Exodus Fueling European Wildfires
China Hosts Major Security Meeting
Chinese Police Successfully Recover Family's Savings from Livestream Purchases
Germany Marks a Decade Since Migrant Wave with Divisions, Success Stories, and Political Shifts
Liverpool Defeat Arsenal 1–0 with Szoboszlai Free-Kick to Stay Top of Premier League
Prince Harry and King Charles to Meet in First Reunion After 20 Months
Chinese Stock Market Rally Fueled by Domestic Investors
×