If you are part of the 89.57% of the world that uses Google, then it is very likely that you have come across the new "AI Overview" function. Even when I began doing research into this article, I was given an AI Overview on what the AI Overview is.

In a world increasingly dominated by technology and artificial intelligence, it is unsurprising that search engines such as Google are employing AI more than ever before. However, it begs the question—what impact is this having on us and on our information retrieval abilities?

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What is the "AI Overview" function?

According to Google itself, AI Overviews "provide a snapshot of key information about a topic or questions with links so [one] can easily explore more on the web".

"AI Overviews makes it easier than ever for people to find the information they need and discover the richness of the web."

~ Google, 2024

Essentially, when you search something up on Google, it now provides a AI-generated response before the actual search responses come up. While this may seem like a more efficient way to find information, it has its fair share of downsides.

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Reliability of AI Overviews

Just like many other AI services online, such as ChatGPT and Gemini, Google's AI Overview often gets think horribly wrong. As a matter of fact, a study by research journalist James Martin found that over 42% of web users have seen inaccurate or misleading content through this function.

There are numerous examples of the AI Overview providing clearly untrue information. For instance, when you search "cheese not sticking to pizza", the function suggests that you should "add about 1/8 of a cup of non-toxic glue". This is very obviously poisonous and shows how AI takes random pieces of information from the internet without verifying anything.

Image Credit: Margaritas At the Genius Bar from Wikimedia Commons

While that example went viral for its hilarity, there are many times when mistakes are harder to spot, such as incorrectly claiming that USB 3.2 is the fastest USB version and prescribing vegetable juices as an at-home remedy for appendicitis.

It is easy to see how people can develop misconceptions and even complete falsehoods by using the AI Overview function, but it may have more long-lasting impacts we can't see yet.

Impact on Information Retrieval Abilities

Part of what makes human beings so unique, special, and intelligent is our ability to find key information and think critically about it. However, our increasing dependence on artificial intelligence could jeopardise this.

Martin's study also found that roughly 82% of Internet users do not trust AI Overviews, but only about 8% actually verify the AI summaries through further research. This means that the majority of people use information from AI even if they think it may not be accurate, which will only exacerbate the ongoing crisis of misinformation.

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As time goes on, falsehoods online will only make up a fraction of the major issue here: humans losing our information retrieval abilities. Dire as this may seem, it could very well be the reality if we continue this way.

Years ago, when the Internet first became widespread, people began losing the ability to research using physical books and reports. Now, if everyone continues to solely use the AI Overviews rather than doing their own research, we will be unable to discern and find information online too. Not only does this make us overly lazy, but it will also contribute to the declining quality of new works being produced.

What's Next?

With the AI Overview function and other similar artificially-generated summaries become increasingly prevalent, what exactly is next for mankind is a question often posed.

We have already opened a Pandora's Box of misinformation and complacency, but there are still ways to mitigate the negative impacts of AI Overviews on society. Next time you see something inaccurate through artificial intelligence (or anywhere, for that matter!), be sure to verify with another source! Scroll past the AI Overview next time you make an online search, and you might just be surprised with what information you find.

Artificial intelligence may be quick and efficient at finding and compiling information, but always remember that no one can interpret and understand it the way human beings can.