TechDigits

Tech news
Thursday, Jun 08, 2023

Google boss Sundar Pichai admits AI dangers 'keep me up at night'

Google boss Sundar Pichai admits AI dangers 'keep me up at night'

Google has started rolling out its own chatbot called Bard. It's a large language model, trained on huge amounts of data, to help it understand text inputs and respond. Its direct competition is Microsoft's revamped Bing, which has rolled OpenAI's ChatGPT technology into its search engine.
Google's chief executive had admitted the potential dangers of AI development "keep me up at night".

Sundar Pichai said the technology "can be very harmful if deployed wrongly" and backed growing calls for regulation amid concern about its impact on jobs, privacy, and how information is shared online.

"We don't have all the answers there yet - and the technology is moving fast," he told CBS's 60 Minutes programme.

"So does that keep me up at night? Absolutely."

Google fast-tracked its plans for ChatGPT-style features in its products and services after being caught out by the sudden success of OpenAI's model, which now has more than 100 million monthly users.

The technology has since been implemented into Microsoft's Bing search engine, threatening Google's long-held dominance in the field like never before.

Google launched its direct competitor, Bard, earlier this year - a major step for a company that had been cautious about allowing the public to interact with its AI.

Bard is powered by LaMDA, which can generate prose so human-like that a company engineer last year called it sentient - a claim the company and scientists widely dismissed.

Google does not 'fully understand' AI's answers

Like ChatGPT, Bard is a large language model trained on huge amounts of data to interpret text and respond to questions and prompts. However, both have also been shown capable of making factual errors.

Mr Pichai admitted Google still does not "fully understand" why Bard produces certain responses.

"There is an aspect of this which we call, all of us in the field call it... a 'black box'," he said.

"You don't fully understand. And you can't quite tell why it said this, or why it got this wrong."

But Mr Pichai said despite his concerns, AI development would only continue to accelerate - and eventually impact "every product across every company", from healthcare to creative industries.

Google itself has already added Bard features to apps like Docs, and The New York Times reports the company will launch an entirely new search engine powered by the technology.

Mr Pichai said it would be down to governments to figure out how best to regulate it.

How governments are approaching AI

The UK government has said it will take a light approach to regulating AI, saying any attempt to legislate now will quickly be out of date.

But in the US, the White House is inviting public feedback on how AI should be regulated to protect jobs and privacy, while China has already published draft rules outlining its own approach.

Last month, Italy became the first country to outright ban ChatGPT while the country's data protection authorities investigated its collection of user information.

It came after Elon Musk joined hundreds of AI experts in calling for a pause in the development of the technology, warning that it posed "profound risks to society".

But Musk has since revealed plans to build his own ChatGPT rival.
AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

TechDigits
Close
0:00
0:00
Nvidia Joins Tech Giants as First Chipmaker to Reach $1 Trillion Valuation
AI ‘extinction’ should be same priority as nuclear war – experts
Prominent Hacker Forum RaidForums Suffers Substantial Data Breach
Nvidia CEO Huang says firms, individuals without AI expertise will be left behind
WPP Revolutionizes Advertising with NVIDIA's AI Powerhouse
TikTok Sues Montana Over Law Banning the App
Mobile phone giant Vodafone to cut 11,000 jobs globally over three years as new boss says its performance not good enough
Warren Buffett Sells TSMC Shares Over Concerns About Taiwan's Stability
'Godfather Of AI' Geoffrey Hinton Quits Google To Warn Of The Tech's Dangers
Vermont Man Charged with Stalking After Secretly Tracking Woman with Apple AirTag
Elon Musk Statements About Tesla Autopilot Could Be 'Deepfakes,' Lawyers Claim. Judge Evette Pennypacker Does Not Understand How Far and Advanced This Technology Became
AT&T's Successful Test of Satellite-Based Phone Call Raises Possibility of Widespread Coverage
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Seymour Hersh slams New York Times' pro-government stance and treatment of sources
Fox News Settles their case with Dominion Voting Systems for a staggering $787.5 MILLION
The G-7 aims to make global crypto regulations tougher
China and Brazil have signed a new deal that will allow them to trade in their own currencies, bypassing the US dollar as an intermediary
Elon Musk and Others Call for Pause on A.I., Citing ‘Profound Risks to Society’
U.S. charges FTX's Bankman-Fried with paying $40 million bribe
Fallen 'Crypto King' Who Owes Millions to Investors Was Kidnapped and Tortured
Regulators blame social media for SVB's rapid collapse: 'Complete game changer'
AOC explains why she opposes banning TikTok
Gordon Moore, a co-founder of Intel Corporation, died at 94
Donald Trump arrested – Twitter goes wild with doctored pictures
Credit Suisse's Scandalous History Resulted in an Obvious Collapse - It's time for regulators who fail to do their job to be held accountable and serve as an example by being behind bars.
Russian Hackers Preparing New Cyber Assault Against Ukraine
A brief banking situation report
Elon Musk Is Planning To Build A Town In Texas For His Employees
The Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse effect is spreading around the world, affecting startup companies across the globe
Market Chaos as USDC Loses Peg to USD after $3.3 Billion Reserves Held by Silicon Valley Bank Closed.
Banking regulators close SVB, the largest bank failure since the financial crisis
In a major snub to Downing Street's Silicon Valley dreams, UK chip giant Arm has dealt a serious blow to the government's economic strategy by opting for a US listing
It's the question on everyone's lips: could a four-day workweek be the future of employment?
Corruption and Influence Buying Uncovered in International Mainstream Media: Investigation Reveals Growing Disinformation Mercenaries
Being a Tiktoker might be expensive…
China's top tech firms, including Alibaba, Tencent, Baidu, NetEase, and JD.com, are developing their own versions of Open AI's AI-powered chatbot, ChatGPT
This shocking picture, showing how terrible is the results of the earthquake in Turkey
The desk of King Carlos Alberto of Sardinia has many secret compartments
Charlie Munger, calls for a ban on cryptocurrencies in the US, following China's lead
First generation unopened iPhone set to fetch more than $50,000 at auction.
Almost 30% of professionals say they've tried ChatGPT at work
Interpol seeks woman who ran elaborate exam cheating scam in Singapore
What is ChatGPT?
Tesla reported record profits and record revenues for 2022
Microsoft is finalising plans to become the latest technology giant to reduce its workforce during a global economic slowdown
Tesla slashes prices globally by as much as 20 percent
After Failing To Pay Office Rent, Twitter May Sell User Names
FTX fraud investigators are digging deeper into Sam Bankman-Fried's inner circle – and reportedly have ex-engineer Nishad Singh in their sights
TikTok CEO Plans to Meet European Union Regulators
U.S. Moves to Seize Robinhood Shares, Silvergate Accounts Tied to FTX
Coinbase to Pay $100 Million in Settlement With New York Regulator
×