Your MoneyStocktake

Google: An AI also-ran or a $2 trillion titan?

Don’t get suckered into joining the guessing game of who will emerge on top in AI race

The stock of Google parent Alphabet has experienced dramatic fluctuations based on unreliable assessments of its AI capabilities.
The stock of Google parent Alphabet has experienced dramatic fluctuations based on unreliable assessments of its AI capabilities.
Proinsias O'Mahony's picture
Proinsias O'Mahony
Tue May 07 2024 - 05:45

Alphabet recently became a $2 trillion (€1.86 trillion) company, with strong earnings driving one of the biggest-ever one-day gains in market capitalisation.

It was, quipped Bespoke Investment, “not bad” for a company that was meant to have “missed the AI future”. Think back to February 2023, when shares lost over $100 billion in a day after Google’s AI chatbot gave wrong answers in a promotional video.

Shares continued to plunge before rebounding as investors reassessed Google’s AI credentials. More recently, shares slumped in February after Google’s AI chatbot Gemini produced embarrassing inaccuracies, including racially diverse Nazis.

However, March saw another about-turn in sentiment, as evidenced by this headline: “Alphabet is set to pop 15 per cent as Google is a clear winner in AI, says securities firm Wedbush.”

READ MORE

Less than a fortnight later, another headline read: “Why Google stock is down today on new AI worries.”

[ We are at last creating AI approaching human intellect but the underpinnings are insubstantial ]

Nine months ago, this column cautioned that “predicting how the AI race will turn out is a tricky business”. The point holds – don’t get sucked into the AI guessing game.

READ NEXT