Why we need to slow down the AI chatbot revolution

Rushing the release of AI chatbots for search is a risky experiment fuelled by greed.

IMAGINE living in a city that, overnight, changed all its road signs. Some of them are still familiar, directing you to the city centre, while others offer more whimsical destinations such as the moon or Narnia. Some changes streamline the driving experience, while a few are outright dangerous, such as a speed limit of 300 miles per hour. “Oh, we know it doesn’t quite work,” say the city planners. “But the neighbouring city is going to do it and we wanted to get there first. Will you test it for us so we can win?”

We would rightly question the …