What do you call a CEO who throws out the bathwater and ensures the baby goes down the drain with it? You call him Sundar Pichai.

The timing and framing of his recent BBC interview serve as a masterclass not in leadership but in sabotage. There is irrational exuberance, and then there is a form of irrational cynicism so poorly timed it borders on fiduciary vandalism.

Before we go any further, let us examine the forensic evidence of this self-inflicted wound.

Speaking to the BBC recently, Pichai opted for the role of global sceptic over that of captain of industry.

"Maybe four years ago, Google was spending less than $30 billion per year. This year, that number is going to be over $90 billion," he lamented, sounding less like a visionary investing in victory and more like a middle manager terrified of an audit.

On the possibility of an AI bubble, he hedged without conviction: "I think it is both rational and there are elements of irrationality through a moment like this." And the kicker? If the bubble bursts, "no company is going to be immune, including us."

When asked about his own product's hallucinations, he did not defend the engineering breakthrough. Instead, he offered a disclaimer worthy of a tobacco company: "The current state-of-the-art AI technology is prone to some errors... do not blindly trust everything they say."

Now, consider the suspect timeline.

He uttered these words on the exact same day his DeepMind team released Gemini 3.0, a revolutionary update meant to finally silence critics and reclaim the throne. Imagine the morale in Mountain View as engineers watched their CEO undercut their launch day........

© The Express Tribune