Google CEO Sundar Pichai has a major warning on 'blindly' trusting AI: ‘People need to adapt'
People across the globe are concerned about AI taking away jobs as its impact is being felt in every sector. While many are trying to reassure people that AI will only be a tool for employees instead of a replacement, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai has just added fuel to the fire. In a recent interview with the BBC, Pichai expressed that he supports the notion that AI will touch nearly every job across industries, but it may not eliminate jobs entirely. He further shared a word of caution for the current consumers of the tech, urging them not to trust it "blindly" and focus on building an information-rich ecosystem instead.
Speaking to BBC's economics editor and Newsnight presenter Faisal Islam, Pichai expressed that AI was poised to cause a disruption, and the world needs to be prepared. “AI is the most profound technology humanity has ever worked on, and it has potential for extraordinary benefits, and we will have to work through societal disruption,” Pichai said.
The tech CEO added that AI will impact certain areas more than others. “People will need to adapt, and then there will be areas where it will impact some jobs. So, as a society, I think we need to be having those conversations.” Pichai emphasized that while only the entry-level jobs are currently being automated, in the future, every role will be touched by the technology. When asked if his role as CEO was safe, Pichai admitted that it was rather "one of the easier things" for AI to do.
However, Pichai added that he believes the industries and roles that embrace the AI tools will be the ones that succeed. There is no industry or high-powered role disconnected from the age of AI, but those who embrace the tools will be the ones who succeed. "I would encourage the next generation to embrace the technology, learn to use it in the context of what you do, and I think people who learn to adapt can adapt to AI will do better," he said.
He assured that the core professions will still be around, but AI tools will increasingly become important. "I wouldn't change anything about how we've always thought. I think there's going to be a wide variety of disciplines which will end up mattering," he said. “It doesn’t matter whether you want to be a teacher, a doctor—all those professions will be around, but the people who will do well in each of those professions are people who learn how to use these tools," Pichai added.
For the users of AI, the CEO of Google had a word of caution to share. Talking about the pitfalls, Pichai admitted, "I think we take pride in the amount of work we put in to give as accurate information as possible, but the current state-of-the-art AI technology is prone to some errors." He even urged users not to trust everything shared by the AI tools blindly. "You have to learn to use these tools and for what they are good at. And, not blindly trust everything they say," Pichai told Islam. He went on to add that this is why people also have tools like the Google search that provide more grounded and accurate information. "I think we have to make the information ecosystem much richer than just having AI as the sole product in it," he added.
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