BERLIN: The boss of Google’s search engine warned against the pitfalls of artificial intelligence in chatbots in a newspaper interview published on Saturday, as Google parent company Alphabet battles to compete with blockbuster app ChatGPT.
“This kind of artificial intelligence we’re talking about right now can sometimes lead to something we call hallucination,” Prabhakar Raghavan, senior vice president at Google and head of Google Search, told Germany’s Welt am Sonntag newspaper.
“This then expresses itself in such a way that a machine provides a convincing but completely made-up answer,” Raghavan said in comments published in German. One of the fundamental tasks, he added, was keeping this to a minimum.
Google has been on the back foot after OpenAI, a startup Microsoft is backing with around $10 billion, in November introduced ChatGPT, which has since wowed users with its strikingly human-like responses to user queries.
Alphabet Inc. introduced Bard, its own chatbot, earlier this week, but the software shared inaccurate information in a promotional video in a gaffe that cost the company $100 billion in market value on Wednesday.
Alphabet, which is still conducting user testing on Bard, has not yet indicated when the app could go public.
“We obviously feel the urgency, but we also feel the great responsibility,” Raghavan said. “We certainly don’t want to mislead the public.”
Google cautions against ‘hallucinating’ chatbots — report
https://arab.news/r2k7s
Google cautions against ‘hallucinating’ chatbots — report
Snap launches AR Souq in Saudi, expands regional AR Ramadan Mall
- Snap Souq features Najdi-inspired design and interactive brand activations
- The mall returns for fifth year with new ‘districts’
DUBAI: Snap has launched the Snap Souq, an augmented reality experience designed to resemble a traditional Saudi souq, for the Ramadan season.
Snapchat users can access the virtual souq, which features Najdi architectural design, through a selfie lens that provides a digital key.
“For many of us, our strongest Ramadan memories are tied to evenings spent together, gathering, exploring, and discovering something new. Those moments shape how we connect, and that sense of discovery is deeply cultural,” said Abdulla Al-Hammadi, managing director for Saudi Arabia at Snap Inc.
He told Arab News the Snap Souq used “technology to scale that feeling without losing its essence, bringing discovery into a digital space that feels natural to today’s audiences.”
Each brand kiosk has a different design and features interactive gaming elements aimed at increasing user interaction beyond product browsing.
Although users cannot shop directly within the AR experience, Snap said the launch highlights the “importance of culturally aligned digital experiences” during Ramadan, as spending in the Kingdom typically increases by 35 percent during this period. Some 84 percent of users in the Kingdom have expressed interest in using AR to engage with products before purchasing, according to the company.
Brands taking part include NiceOne, Abdul Latif Jameel, Rama Clinics and Stars Smile.
“By reimagining the traditional Saudi souq through the Snapchat camera, we created a space where heritage, community, and modern discovery come together naturally,” said Al-Hammadi.
Snapchat has also brought back its AR Ramadan Mall for the fifth year. In 2025, the experience reached 16.8 million shoppers, driving a 30 percent increase in engagement time year-on-year.
This year, the mall includes five “districts,” each dedicated to a specific sector.
The new format is based on data obtained over several years and allows each category to have its own AR environment, creating a more focused and contextual approach to brand engagement.
“This approach moves away from a one-size-fits-all structure and instead supports deeper engagement by giving people the freedom to spend time in spaces that align more closely with what they are looking for,” explained Mohammed Bouarib, regional creative strategy and innovation lead at Snap Inc.
The mall features 11 brands across five categories — luxury, automotive, food and beverage, self-care and retail. They include YSL Beauty, Dolce & Gabbana, Roberto Cavalli, Nespresso, Puck, Neutrogena, Sensodyne, Centrum, Al‑Futtaim BYD & Denza, and MAX.
Snap Souq is only available in Saudi Arabia, while the AR Ramadan Mall is available across the Middle East. Both can be accessed through the Lens Explorer and the carousel feature on Snapchat until the first week of Eid.
