Rapid progress in artificial intelligence 'keeps me up at night' says Google CEO

Sundar Pichai says we don't fully understand AI. Photo: SAJAD HUSSEIN/AFP via Getty Images

Google's chief executive admitted that the rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) keeps him awake at night, despite the company pushing the technology.

Sundar Pichai said he doesn't fully understand AI, but said that one day it «will be a lot more functional». than anything we've seen before.»

In an interview with the American CBS network, he said: «I've always thought of AI as the deepest technology that humanity is working on. Deeper than fire, electricity, or anything we've done in the past.»

However, the head of the technical department acknowledged that he was concerned about the rapid and uncontrolled development of technology.

Mr. Pichai said: “It can be very harmful if not deployed correctly, we do not have all the answers yet, and technologies are developing fast, does it keep me awake at night? Absolutely.”

Last month, tech leaders including Elon Musk signed an open letter calling for a six-month pause in AI research and warning that the technology was getting out of hand.

The letter, led by the Future of Life Institute, signed a list of dozens of Google employees.

Mr. Pichai called the technology a «black box» that we «do not fully understand.»

» You can't say exactly why he said it or why he made a mistake. I also don't think we fully understand how the human mind works.»

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The head of Google said that A.I. needs to be regulated.

“You know, anyone who has worked with AI for a while understands that it is something so different and so deep that we need social norms to think about how to adapt.”

His concerns come despite Google. moving forward with Bard, the AI ​​company's chatbot and ChatGPT competitor from OpenAI.

Google has been considered a leader in artificial intelligence, but has been criticized for lagging behind competitors, including Microsoft, which has invested in OpenAI and is using its technology to power its Bing search engine.

Mr Pichai acknowledged the risk that companies have rushed to develop technology without fully considering its shortcomings.

«One of the things we need to keep in mind when it comes to AI is [not] avoiding race conditions where people, companies working on it, companies are so engrossed in coming first that we overlook [the] potential pitfalls and downsides.”

Mr. AI to your search engine. According to the New York Times, the company is developing new features, codenamed Magi, that will seek to anticipate people's needs when performing searches and answer additional questions.

Google is expected to provide more details at its annual conference in software next month.

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