Neither Sundar Pichai Nor Sergey Brin—This Ex-Employee Warned Google 5 Years Ago That AI Was Coming For Their Search Engine – Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG), Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL)


Former Google Engineer Warned About AI Threat More Than Five Years Ago

Neither Alphabet Inc.’s co-founder Sergey Brin, nor current CEO Sundar Pichai have directly admitted it, but a former Google engineer warned that the threat from AI was “near inevitable” more than five years ago.

Google’s recent fumbles with its Gemini AI chatbot, and the subsequent admittance of the mistake by Brin, have reinforced concerns that the search giant is feeling threatened by AI chatbots, which include Perplexity AI and OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

Brin recently admitted that Gemini’s image generation was not adequately tested before rolling it out to the public, showing a lack of quality control at the company. This points to a much larger issue regarding the company’s approach to AI technology.

However, a former Google engineer named Eric Lehman had already sounded the alarm about the threat posed by AI to the company’s primary revenue driver. Internal emails revealed during the ongoing Google antitrust lawsuit show Lehman expressing his concerns and stating that the advantages of Google’s current approach will eventually crumble due to the rapid advancements in machine learning technology.

Lehman was almost certain that this future was near-inevitable, stating, “None of us can see the future, but my bet is that this is nearly certain to be true within 5 years and could be true even within 6 months.”

Google Search revenue for the fourth quarter of 2023 stood at $48.02 billion, accounting for nearly 56% of the company’s total revenue during the quarter. Given that it accounts for half of the company’s top line, it is vital for its financial health.

While Brin thinks the Gemini issue is “messed up,” Pichai called it “completely unacceptable.” Whether Google can fix Gemini in time remains to be seen.

In conclusion, the warnings from a former Google engineer about the threat posed by AI technology have now come to light amidst Google’s recent struggles with its AI chatbot. The company’s reliance on AI for revenue generation highlights the importance of addressing these concerns and ensuring the technology is developed responsibly and ethically.

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