Another big tech name is warning people about the potential influence of AI technology, with the CEO of Google noting that it will eventually “impact every product across every company.”
The explosion of generative AI technology like ChatGPT has already made a lasting impression on the tech industry, with companies scrambling to establish their own alternatives to stay competitive. Google itself has developed a program, dubbed Bard, to compete with the AI chatbot from OpenAI, currently owned by Microsoft.
Still, investment in that technology has not stopped Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Google, from speaking out about how big of an effect the new technology will have on the world as we know it today.
The Future Impact of AI
In an interview with “60 Minutes” on CBS, Google CEO Sundar Pichai talked at length about the future of AI technology and how it will impact the business landscape.
He explained that the evolution of the technology over the coming years is undeniably going to have an effect on industries across the world, and not just the kinds of businesses that you would expect.
“For example, you could be a radiologist, if you think about five to 10 years from now, you’re going to have an AI collaborator with you. You come in the morning, let’s say you have a hundred things to go through, it may say, ‘these are the most serious cases you need to look at first.’” – Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google
There are obviously a lot of ways in which AI technology will help the business world grow. But, as with any type of innovative technology, there are some downsides that users need to be aware of.
The biggest concerns about the recent proliferation of AI technology are around its use to amplify misinformation. A recent study even found that Google’s own Bard platform could be utilized to spread misinformation, so making sure we’re ready for AI tech to be a bigger part of everyday life is imperative.
Are We Ready for the Evolution of AI?
We’re a mere six months past the initial launch of ChatGPT, but users can already see that this technology is going to have far-reaching implications for the future of business. But are we actually ready for the ways in which this technology will change the world?
When asked the same question during the “60 Minutes” interview, Pichai had a fairly blunt, albeit somewhat unsettling answer:
“On one hand, I feel no, because the pace at which we can think and adapt as societal institutions, compared to the pace at which the technology is evolving, there seems to be a mismatch.” – Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google
This sentiment has been echoed by a number of tech pioneers like Steve Wozniak and Elon Musk, with some even calling for a six-month pause on the development of AI technology.
There is a silver lining, though, as Pichai points out people are already direly concerned about the development of AI technology, which will hopefully result in meaningful safeguards down the line.
How to Prepare for AI Development
Given the break-neck speed at which generative AI chatbots have been rolled out to the general public, it’s safe to wonder what kind of safeguards are in place to keep it from getting out of hand.
Fortunately, Pichai does seem to be taking the risks seriously, at least during the course of this interview.
“It’s not for a company to decide. This is why I think the development of this needs to include not just engineers but social scientists, ethicists, philosophers and so on.” – Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google
There’s no denying that we are in the earlier stages of AI development, but ChatGPT and its many alternatives are a huge leap forward. As a society, we need to keep in mind the real-world impacts of this technology to ensure that it’s used for the proliferation of humanity, rather than its untimely demise.
