Google CEO Sundar Pichai warns US must balance AI regulation or fall behind

Google CEO Sundar Pichai warned Sunday that the United States must “get the balance right” when it comes to regulating artificial intelligence, or it risks falling behind China.

In an interview on “Fox News Sunday” with Shannon Brehm, Pichai noted that more than 1,000 AI-related bills currently passing through state legislatures could create confusing rules that make it difficult for American companies to compete globally.

“How do you handle those diverse systems, and how do you compete with countries like China, which are moving quickly in this technology?” Pichai asked. “So I think we have to strike the right balance.”

Pichai said the United States must strike a balance between encouraging innovation and creating guardrails, something he said is “best done at the national level.”

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He also said that governments and technology companies must strengthen their defences, adding that countries must also work together “to develop international frameworks for cooperation so that we do not use these technologies as a weapon against each other.”

“Part of that is us as companies improving our products,” Pichai said. “Part of that is governments working together to create standards and frameworks within which we all use technology in a collaborative way.”

Pichai noted that artificial intelligence has “great benefits” — including the ability to develop new drugs and cancer treatments — but warned that the same tools could be used as a weapon by bad actors.

“Any technology has a dual aspect,” Pichai said. “…Humanity’s journey has always been: ‘How can you harness technology to benefit society?’ And I believe this technology is no different.”

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Illustration of the hacker. Google is increasingly using artificial intelligence defensively to stop criminals who might use the technology for fraud and hacking. (Getty Images/Getty Images)

Google is using AI defensively to stop criminals who might use the technology for fraud and hacking. SynthID is a Google DeepMind tool that can recognize images and videos generated by artificial intelligence, according to Pichai.

The CEO pointed to the court ruling, issued just hours ago, in favor of Google against the phishing operator that targeted more than a million people in more than 100 countries.

“You want to use AI on the defensive side as well,” Pichai said. “In the same way that bad actors can use AI, we can also use AI to better detect those operations.”

Pichai also discussed Google’s “Suncatcher” project, an initiative to build solar-powered data centers in outer space.

“There’s no doubt to me that in a decade or so we’ll look at it as a more natural way to build data centers,” he said.

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The Google LLC logo is seen at the Google Store Chelsea in Manhattan, New York City, on November 17, 2021. (Andrew Kelly/Reuters/Reuters)

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When asked whether AI was undermining human thought, Pichai compared the concerns to early criticism of Google decades ago.

“About twenty-five years ago, people were asking the same questions about Google search,” he said. “I think we as a society will adapt, and I predict that our creative days will be richer in the future.”