Is Google Moving 'Too Fast' With AI And Does It Need To Slow Down? Here’s What CEO Sundar Pichai Said

Google showcased its AI might at the I/O 2024 keynote earlier this month. We still feel the company’s use of AI is limited to the basic products and more is needed to catch up with OpenAI. But Google CEO Sundar Pichai realises the need to take it easy rather than go full throttle in its bid to become the leader.

He has talked about finding the right balance between advancements and responsibility of rolling them out to the public. Pichai has once again reiterated this stance in a recent interview, where he pointed out that Google will follow its own trajectory and not look to match with its rivals just for the sake of competition.

“I think one of the ways you can do the wrong thing is by listening to the noise out there and playing someone else’s dance music,” Pichai was quoted saying in an interview by Bloomberg earlier.

Pace of Innovation Or Jeopardise Safety?

The company realises its focus on AI cannot come at the cost of blunders, especially since it has faced a few of them in the past few months.

Google faced a lot of flak over its AI image generator that was accused of being racist with content generated with twisted historical facts. Pichai had spoken about the issue in an internal memo, saying the company will make a whole list of changes and improvements in the AI mechanism to ensure these issues and mistakes don’t happen ever again.

These instances are probably enough for Pichai and Co. to realise the need to keep their progress in check and adhere to the safety norms in AI that is paramount as the technology evolves and upgrades to become a more intrinsic part of our lives. The Google chief did admit that no AI is perfect but the world expects a giant like Google to not make these mistakes, setting the bar much higher for the company.

Google could do well to not follow OpenAI’s case and build its AI roadmap suited to its development and speed that balances out the safety and innovation aspects at the same time.

Apple is probably going to be the ideal role model for most companies, as it has not felt the need to join the rat race without being fully compliant in all corners. After all, AI has got the world excited and worried in equal measures, and Pichai needs to ensure that his team walks their talk in the foreseeable future.