Google boss says AI is ‘too important to get wrong’

Matt Brittin – the President of Google for Europe, the Middle East and Africa – says AI could provide “huge breakthroughs in health” and “potential for unlimited, clean energy” if we get it right.
the President of Google for Europe, the Middle East and Africa

Google President Matt Brittin has warned that artificial intelligence technology is “too important not to get right”.

AI has long been the subject of debate amongst tech companies, and whether the potential risks and drawbacks outweigh the positives it could bring.

Speaking on behalf of Google, Brittin – President of Google for Europe, the Middle East and Africa – stated: “If we get it right, there could be huge breakthroughs in health, the potential for unlimited, clean energy, and a society where everyone has opportunities through education and powerful, intelligent tools. So this is a huge opportunity for us to do that.”

The tech giant has partnered with the University of Cambridge where scientists and academics at the institution’s new Central for Human-Inspired AI will be given funding to research several areas where the technology could have an impact in, including healthcare, climate change and robotics.

The partnership comes just before the UK’s AI safety summit at Bletchley Park, which will see major tech companies come together to discuss the potential future of the technology.

Currently, AI has been successfully utilised in several areas, including the plane industry. Using AI tools, flight paths have been optimised to ensure the amount of contrails – vapour trails from aeroplanes in the sky – are kept to a minimum.

Vice president of research at Google DeepMind, and professor of information engineering at Cambridge University, Zoubin Ghahramani told the BBC: “It may not seem like an obvious use, but it is actually very valuable to address the impact of air travel.”

Matt emphasised that is was Google’s priority to improve the climate change situation by using AI with DeepMind, as well as though reducing their harmful emissions as much as possible: “I joined the company in 2007, and that was the year we became carbon neutral – we became one of the world’s biggest purchasers of renewables.”