Everyone is navigating AI security in real time — even Google

Oh, brilliant. Google's security executive has graced us with a warning about 'shadow AI' — the spectre of employees using ungoverned AI tools to get their jobs done. This from the company that practically invented 'move fast and break things' before pivoting to 'move fast and secure things, maybe, eventually.' The executive, speaking to TechCrunch on May 24, 2026, insists companies must 'demand security and governance from AI platforms from the start.' Right, because demanding things from platforms has always worked so well — ask anyone still waiting for their GDPR compliance from Facebook.

The real punchline is the admission buried in the hand-wringing: even Google is 'figuring out AI security in real time.' They're telling the rest of us to demand what they haven't yet built. It's like a pilot announcing mid-flight that they're learning how to land, but don't worry, they'll figure it out. Meanwhile, employees have already deployed generative AI copilots for everything from writing code to drafting legal contracts — because what could possibly go wrong when your sales team is feeding customer data into an API with no oversight?

So the takeaway, as 2026 trundles on, is that the people building the AI are also the ones panicking about its security. They're selling the rope even as they realise they don't know how to secure the noose. The 'shadow AI' warning is less a call to action and more an admission of systemic failure, dressed up as thought leadership. But sure, demand security from the start — just don't expect anyone to know what that looks like until after the breach.