The author is the CEO of Google and Alphabet
Generative AI captivated the world’s imagination this year. Millions of people are already using it to boost their creativity and increase their productivity. Meanwhile, more and more startups and organizations are bringing AI-powered products and technologies to market faster than ever before.
AI is the most profound technology mankind is currently grappling with. It will affect every industry and aspect of life. Given such a large risk, the more people involved in advancing AI science, the better it will be in terms of expanding opportunities for communities everywhere.
Some people try to reduce this moment to just a competitive AI race, but we think it’s more than that. For over a decade, Google has been incorporating AI into our products and services and making them accessible to users. We take this very seriously. But even more important is the race to build AI responsibly and to do it right as a society.
We approach this in three ways. First, boldly pursue innovation to make AI better for everyone. At Google, he continues to leverage AI to significantly improve his products, from Google Search and Gmail to his Android and Maps. These advances mean drivers across Europe can now find more fuel-efficient routes. Tens of thousands of Ukrainian refugees are being helped to communicate in their new homes. Flood forecasting tools can predict floods even further in advance. Google DeepMind’s work on AlphaFold, in collaboration with the European Institute of Molecular Biology, has yielded a breakthrough understanding of his more than 200 million cataloged proteins known to science, leading to new healthcare opened up the possibility of
We are also enabling outside companies to use AI, either through our cloud services and APIs, or through new initiatives such as the Google for Startups Growth program, which supports European entrepreneurs who use AI to benefit people’s health and well-being. We also focus on enabling innovation through We are launching the Social Innovation Fund on AI to help social enterprises solve Europe’s most pressing challenges.
Second, we strive to develop and deploy technology responsibly, reflecting our deep commitment to earning the trust of our users. That’s why we published the AI Principles in 2018, based on the belief that AI should be developed to benefit society while avoiding harmful applications.
We have many examples of putting these principles into practice, such as building guardrails to limit misuse of the Universal Translator. This experimental AI video dubbing service helps experts translate a speaker’s voice and match lip movements. While this has great potential to enhance learning comprehension, we recognize the risks it poses if it falls into the wrong hands, so we only allow access to authorized partners. I’m here. As AI evolves, so will our approach. Earlier this month, we announced that we are providing a way to identify when AI has been used to generate content within our services.
Finally, realizing the full potential of AI is not something that one company can do alone. In 2020, I shared the view that AI needs to be regulated in a way that balances innovation and potential harm. Technology is at an inflection point now, returning to Europe this week, but we still believe AI is too important to be regulated, and too important to be regulated well.
Anticipating potential harms and developing policy frameworks that extract benefits will require in-depth discussions among governments, industry experts, publishers, academia and civil society. Legislators may not have to start from scratch. Existing regulations provide a useful framework for managing the potential risks of new technologies. However, continued investment in responsible AI research and development is important, as is ensuring that AI is safely applied, especially in regions where regulations are still evolving.
Strengthening international cooperation will be key. The United States and Europe are strategic allies and partners. It is critical that both parties work together to create a robust innovation-enhancing framework for emerging technologies, grounded in shared values and goals. We will continue to work with experts, social scientists, and entrepreneurs who are creating standards for responsible AI development on both sides of the Atlantic.
AI presents a once-in-a-generation opportunity for the world to meet climate goals, build sustainable growth, and remain globally competitive. However, we are still in the early stages and have a lot of work ahead. We look forward to working with others to build AI safely and responsibly so that everyone can benefit.
