Head of Google search warns of AI’s harmful effects, cites chatbot hallucinations

Prabhakar Raghavan, the head of Google Search, has warned of the potential harmful effects of Artificial Intelligence (AI). He has expressed concern that AI can sometimes “hallucinate” and provide “answers which are convincing but completely made-up”. 

This warning comes in the wake of Google announcing its own version of ChatGPT, the Google Bard, which is currently in the testing phase and not yet available for public use. 

Raghavan also highlighted the need for caution when introducing AI to the public, saying: “We obviously feel the urgency, but we also feel the great responsibility. We certainly don‘t want to mislead the public.” 

Google’s announcement of the Bard chatbot has been met with criticism from some of their employees, who have called it “rushed, botched, and un-Googley”. Microsoft, on the other hand, is attempting to challenge Google’s search dominance with their new AI-powered version of Bing. 

It is clear that while AI applications can be beneficial, the potential for harmful effects must not be overlooked. Prabhakar Raghavan’s warning serves as a reminder of the importance of caution and care when introducing AI technology to the public.