'The AI era is no longer a distant promise; it is a present reality,' Google declares in a report that also claims its AI principles are the 'north star standards'

(Image credit: Google)

AI has been in a funny place for some time. Growing exponentially, and sucking up much of the world's supply of memory, GPUs, and energy in the process, we've seen countless examples of models being released with few guardrails and being reigned in after the fact.

This week, Google published its "responsible AI progress report" (PDF warning), outlining why its "AI Principles are the north star standards" that will guide it over the next year.

Portland, OR, USA - May 2, 2025: Assorted AI apps, including ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Perplexity, Meta AI, Microsoft Copilot, and Grok, are seen on the screen of an iPhone. — (Image credit: hapabapa via Getty Images)

The progress report is mostly centred on what AI is currently doing to aid humans, and how Google is attempting to make its Gemini chatbot safer. It reports that Gemini 3 saw "rigorous testing" prior to its deployment, and ways that Google is attempting to make it safer as it begins to "introduce agentic capabilities to Chrome."

Prompt injection, where bad actors feed nefarious instructions to LLMs to get models to exploit their own users, is a focus for future security advances from Google. This includes the addition of an "Alignment critic" that "acts as an independent reviewer, vetoing actions that do not align with the user’s specific intent."

Agentic AI is another focus for Google in 2026. Citing research done in April last year, Google argues, "The research assumes that highly capable AI could be developed by 2030." As AI becomes more powerful and gets further ingrained into PCs, it is more targeted by bad actors, so Google claims it is considering "various mitigations, such as blocking access to dangerous capabilities by using filters to prevent misuse, or using AI assistance to help maintain oversight."

Though Google is very focused in this report on mitigating harm, it appears to be just as focused on proselytising the benefits of AI. Google is reportedly attempting to:

Accelerate scientific progress through research and an 'AI co-scientist tool'
Improve global health through disease detection and the lightening of administrative burden
Strengthen resilience with models designed to accurately read the weather and predict floods, cyclones, and earthquakes
Support education through developing personalised learning plans and teaching AI literacy

Given the huge costs of AI and how much of the world's economy has been sunk into it, you'd imagine that any company committing to AI would really have to believe in it. Or at least say it believes in it. I suppose arguing for its use case in medicine and education is certainly stronger than 'because I can generate a Studio Ghibli-style photo of myself.'

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James is a more recent PC gaming convert, often admiring graphics cards, cases, and motherboards from afar. It was not until 2019, after just finishing a degree in law and media, that they decided to throw out the last few years of education, build their PC, and start writing about gaming instead. In that time, he has covered the latest doodads, contraptions, and gismos, and loved every second of it. Hey, it’s better than writing case briefs.

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