By Ranjan Sarkhel | July 2, 2025 | Gondwana Readers
A Celebration That Hides a Storm
On July 1, 2025, millions noticed something new on Google’s homepage—a bouncing doodle that transformed into the single, sleek “G” logo. Beneath its charm, this animation quietly marked the global debut of Google AI Mode, a feature that may soon change how the internet works—for better or worse.
After months of limited testing, Google AI Mode is now fully live in the United States and gradually rolling out in countries like India. It promises faster, smarter results by showing machine-generated “AI overviews” at the top of your search, summarizing information from across the web without needing users to click further.
No more scanning blue links. No more sifting through blogs or reading full articles. Google AI Mode is designed to serve you answers instantly. But what looks like convenience could spell catastrophe for independent creators, storytellers, educators—and anyone who believes the internet should remain open and diverse.
Behind the Magic: The Hidden Costs of Google AI Mode
As Google AI Mode becomes the default way people find answers, experts are beginning to sound a unified alarm. They say it’s not just a new feature—it’s a shift in power. And for many of us creating and sharing content online, it could be devastating.
The Quiet Death of Website Traffic
With Google AI Mode delivering full summaries, readers no longer need to visit original sites. Bloggers, fiction writers, educators, and even journalists are already seeing significant drops in traffic.
“It’s cannibalizing the open web,” says media analyst Priya Iyer. “Creators invest time and effort, but now Google’s AI just skims their work, summarizes it, and keeps the traffic for itself.”
A study by the Web Creators Union revealed that traffic to independent sites has dropped by nearly 27% since AI Mode’s rollout in the U.S. For small romance blogs, literary magazines, or passion-based platforms—this could be the beginning of the end.
When AI Hallucinates: The Rise of Misinformation
No AI is perfect. Despite Google’s claims of reliability, Google AI Mode has already delivered incorrect summaries on sensitive topics like medical advice, legal guidance, and environmental policy.
“People trust Google more than any news outlet. But AI isn’t a trained librarian—it’s a parrot repeating patterns from the internet’s noise,” says Dr. Alan Monroe, digital epistemologist at MIT.
The danger? When a user sees something wrong in an AI answer, they may not even know it’s wrong—especially when the original sources are hidden.
Source Opacity and the Reality Filter
Unlike traditional Google search results, Google AI Mode rarely offers clear links or citations. Often, it’s unclear where the information is coming from, or how old it is.
“You’re no longer searching the web,” warns Marissa Ng of the Open Web Foundation. “You’re searching Google’s version of the truth.”
This has major implications for transparency, bias, and even political influence. As AI-generated summaries replace human voices, we lose the ability to trace, question, or choose what we believe.
Your Privacy? Not So Private Anymore
In the near future, Google AI Mode plans to integrate deeply with your Gmail, Calendar, and personal data—offering “personalized answers” based on your private life.
But what happens if your device is compromised? Or your data is misused by the algorithm?
“It turns Google Search into a surveillance assistant,” warns Amol Shah of Privacy First India. “It’s a power too great to go unregulated.”
AI Mode May Be Exploiting Creators Without Credit
For creators—especially independent fiction writers, educators, journalists, and trope bloggers—there’s an ethical crisis brewing. Much of the content being summarized by Google AI Mode was originally written by humans who are not credited or compensated.
“The web used to be a garden of diverse voices,” says media critic Chloe Banks. “Now it’s turning into a walled zoo, where AI puts everything behind glass—and we watch, instead of read.”
Writers of romance, literature, and cultural blogs may soon find themselves erased from the discovery chain, their work reduced to AI fragments.
A Call for Urgent Action
Across the world, digital rights groups are demanding accountability. They’re asking governments to regulate AI search tools like Google AI Mode, enforce proper attribution, and let creators opt out of being scraped for machine learning.
“What’s happening is a quiet coup of the internet,” says Arjun Deshmukh, policy expert at the Digital Sovereignty Alliance. “We must act now—or lose the open web forever.”
Europe is drafting an AI Fair Search Bill. India is considering parallel action. But for creators like you and me, the best defense right now is awareness—and solidarity.
END
0 Comments