Pichai said AI is the most profound technology humanity is working on and that the more people work to advance the science of AI, the better opportunities will arise for communities everywhere. He said progress in the development of AI has been mistaken for a competitive AI race.
“While some have tried to limit this moment to just the competitive AI race, we see it as much more than that,” Pichai said in an article for The Financial Times.
“At Google, we’ve been bringing AI into our products and services and making them available to our users for over a decade. We care deeply about this. Still, it’s important to build AI responsibly.” And it matters even more in the race to make sure we as a society get it right,” he said.
International cooperation is key
Google’s top executive said responsible AI development would require efforts from governments. Pichai said continued investment in research and development for responsible AI will ensure AI is implemented safely, “especially where regulations are still evolving.”
“Developing a policy framework that anticipates potential pitfalls and unlocks benefits will require intensive discussions among governments, industry experts, publishers, academia and civil society. Legislators need to start from scratch may not: existing regulations provide a useful framework for managing the potential risks of new technologies,” they wrote.
He highlighted that increased international cooperation, such as the strategic alliance between the US and Europe, will be important in AI regulation.
Pichai meets EU officials
Earlier this week, Pichai met top European Union (EU) officials, including Thierry Breton, the European Commissioner for the Internal Market. The executives said Pichai committed to an “AI pact” and said the Alphabet-owned company would collaborate with other companies on self-regulation.
“Agreed with Google CEO @SundarPichai to work together with all major European and non-European #AI actors, already on a voluntary basis ahead of the AI regulation’s legal deadline,” Breton said in a tweet. AI Pact “To Evolve.” Wednesday (May 24).
“We expect technology in Europe to respect all of our rules on data protection, online security and artificial intelligence. In Europe, it’s not pick and choose. I’m glad @SundarPichai has acknowledged this, and that European Committed to follow all the rules of the union,” he said in a separate tweet.
Pichai said Google looks forward to working with others to build AI safely and responsibly so that everyone can benefit.