Google CEO Sundar Pichai has opened up about a concern related to AI that keeps him awake at night. Pichai shared his greater fear regarding the rapid advancement of AI, citing the potential for misuse by malicious actors, especially in the creation of hyper-realistic deepfakes as the primary concern that keeps him awake at night.
In a recent interview with Fox News, the CEO of the company that is leading much of the world’s AI development with the recent release of the Gemini 3 model, highlighted the dual nature of this powerful technology. While Pichai was quick to highlight AI’s potential for the good of society, such as accelerating the discovery of new drugs and developing better treatments for cancer, he stressed that this progress is balanced by severe risks.
Pichai loses concerns over AI’s negative side
“Any technology, you know, has a dual side to it,” Pichai said in the interview. He expressed particular concerns about the capacity for bad actors to utilise AI to generate convincing hoax images and videos that are ‘virtually indistinguishable from reality’.
“Those are the kind of things you know, you sit and think about, and the journey of humanity is always, ‘How do you harness technology to benefit society?’ And I think this technology is no different,” said Pichai, highlighting the ongoing challenge of governance and safety in the AI revolution.
Pichai monitors social media for real-time feedback
In a separate discussion on product strategy, Pichai also offered a glimpse into his personal method for gauging the success of major Google product launches. Despite receiving internal reports, the CEO revealed that he personally monitors public reception and user experience in real-time on social media platforms, including X (formerly Twitter).
Pichai explained that he needs to “feel it firsthand” to understand how average users are interacting with new products and what feedback they are posting. He stated, “I’m pretty active on launch day trying to understand what’s working. I’m looking for feedback. I’m on X trying to understand [and] see if people, average users, how they’re experiencing the product.”
