Tech CEOs in Davos dodge issues by warning audiences about AI
- Sundar Pichai, chief executive of Alphabet and its subsidiary Google, suggests a global framework for AI development efforts
- The EU is set to unveil its plans to legislate the technology, especially in ‘high-risk sectors’ such as health care and transport
The technology industry’s most influential leaders have a new message: it is not us you need to worry about – it is artificial intelligence (AI).
Two years ago, big tech embarked on a repentance tour to Davos in response to criticism about the companies’ role in issues such as election interference by Russia-backed groups; spreading misinformation; the distribution of extremist content; antitrust violations; and tax avoidance. Uber Technologies’ new chief executive even asked to be regulated.
These problems have not gone away – last year tech’s issues were overshadowed by the world’s – but this time executives warned audiences that AI must be regulated, rather than the companies themselves.
“AI is one of the most profound things we’re working on as humanity. It’s more profound than fire or electricity,” Alphabet chief executive Sundar Pichai said in an interview at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland on Wednesday.
Comparing AI to international discussions on climate change, Pichai said: “You can’t get safety by having one country or a set of countries working on it. You need a global framework.”