Google CEO Calls AI More Profound Than Fire Amid Safety Concerns
Google CEO Sundar Pichai tells 60 Minutes that artificial intelligence is the most profound technology humanity has ever worked on, while carefully balancing rapid innovation with necessary safety layers.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai tells 60 Minutes that artificial intelligence is the most profound technology humanity has ever worked on, calling it more significant than fire or electricity. He gives rare access to Google's AI development, showcasing robots that learn through machine learning and Project Starline, a highly realistic video conferencing system currently in testing.
The company's most notable AI venture is its chatbot, Bard, which Google currently labels as an experiment. An early version of Bard makes a factual error when it debuts in February because it relies on a self-contained program rather than the internet, but a May update allows the tool to write software and connect to the web to find answers.
Pichai acknowledges the profound societal implications of AI and references Google's famous "Don't be evil" motto as he explains his cautious approach to releasing advanced models. He keeps some sophisticated AI versions under wraps so society can adapt to the technology and Google can build necessary safety layers to address the concerns that keep him up at night.