Speaking at the United Nations Future Summit on Saturday, Google CEO Sundar Pichai described AI as the “most transformative technology ever” and announced a new fund for AI education and training around the world.
According to a transcript of his prepared remarks, Pichai noted four big opportunities for AI and sustainable development: giving people access to information in their own language, accelerating scientific discovery, providing warnings and tracking of climate disasters, and boosting economic development.
Pichai also acknowledged that AI poses risks such as deepfakes, but did not address the impact AI will have on the climate.
He added that he wants to avoid a global “AI divide” that mirrors the current digital divide, so Google will create a $120 million Global AI Opportunity Fund and partner with local nonprofits and NGOs to “make AI education and training available to communities around the world” in local languages.
On the same theme, Pichai called for “smart product regulation that mitigates harms and resists the impulses of national protectionism,” predicting that regulation could otherwise “widen the AI divide and limit the benefits of AI.”