Google chief warns AI could be harmful if deployed wrongly

Sundar Pichai calls for global regulatory framework similar to nuclear treaty amid safety concerns.

Google’s chief executive has said concerns about artificial intelligence keep him awake at night and that the technology can be “very harmful” if deployed wrongly.

Sundar Pichai also called for a global regulatory framework for AI similar to the treaties used to regulate nuclear arms use, as he warned that the competition to produce advances in the technology could lead to concerns about safety being pushed aside.

In an interview on CBS’s 60 minutes programme, Pichai said the negative side to AI gave him restless nights. “It can be very harmful if deployed wrongly and we don’t have all the answers there yet – and the technology is moving fast. So does that keep me up at night? Absolutely,” he said.

Google’s parent, Alphabet, owns the UK-based AI company DeepMind and has launched an AI-powered chatbot, Bard, in response to ChatGPT, a chatbot developed by the US tech firm OpenAI, which has become a phenomenon since its release in November.

Click here for the full story, below part of 60 minutes

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