Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai Unveils Google’s New Approach to AI
via Bloomberg, Getty Images
As two key moments this week show, the race to deploy artificial intelligence is happening as rapidly as the race to contain it.
Google on May 10 announced plans to introduce a new large-scale language model that uses machine learning techniques to generate text across its existing products. “We are rethinking all our core products, including search,” Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google parent company Alphabet, said at a news conference. The move is widely seen as Microsoft’s response to adding a similar feature to its search engine, Bing.
A day later, European Union politicians agreed to new rules governing when and how AI can be used. The AI law in this block has been in the making for years, but has moved quickly to stay up to date. Last month, lawmakers drafted and passed regulations governing the use of generative AI. The popularity of generative AI has exploded in the last six months. This includes requirements to disclose the use of copyrighted material in AI training. The draft will be put forward for a vote in the European Parliament in June.
But Google, like Microsoft and other tech giants, seems to pay little attention to what may soon become the world’s most dominant form of AI legislation. EU law only applies to member states, but the sheer size of the EU means that companies will eventually comply with its rules all over the world, as is commonly the case with the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). There is a possibility that it will be
How do we resolve this contradiction? “I hope I am wrong, but it seems to me that it is a move of power for these companies to ignore the copyright issue,” said Oxford University. says Carissa Veris of “They are betting that their product is so attractive that the government must adapt, as opposed to their product adapting to the rule of law.”
While some AI companies have entered into agreements to license copyrighted material, others appear to be taking the approach of asking for forgiveness rather than asking for permission. EU AI law may eventually force companies to use copyrighted material, but exactly how that will play out is unclear.
University College London’s Michael Veale says companies like Google have developed something similar to the Content ID system for YouTube, allowing rightsholders to claim content and choose to remove it or monetize it. I’m thinking of doing it. “I suspect AI companies are looking at a similar model today, where they can both minimize costs by staying on the side of setting prices rather than on the side receiving prices, while keeping costs to a minimum. will be able to play the compliance game,” he says. Google did not respond to a request for comment.
Whatever happens, it is clear that AI adoption is unlikely to slow down. “The speed at which companies are moving shows the strategic advantage that AI offers today,” says Tony Blair of the United Kingdom and Benedict Macon-Cooney of the Global Change Institute. “This race has the potential to present great opportunities as once-in-a-generation technology begins to be applied to accelerate science, health and industries old and new.”
But the different paths taken by the tech giants and the EU are creating a “struggle between the giants, a clash of cultures,” Bellis said. She believes that “humanity is at a crossroads,” and that the rules we have now—or our failure to establish—will shape the future direction of travel for years to come. I think it will determine the gender.
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