Alphabet Inc’s Google, already facing an unprecedented regulatory onslaught, is looking to shape public perception and policies on artificial intelligence (AI) ahead of a global wave of AI regulation.
A key priority comes in building out educational programs to train the workforce on AI, an Alphabet executive said.
“Getting more people and organizations, including governments, familiar with AI and using AI tools, makes for better AI policy and opens up new opportunities — it’s a virtuous cycle,” Alphabet global affairs president Kent Walker said.
Photo: Reuters
Governments globally are drafting new regulations on issues that could be exacerbated by AI, such as copyright and privacy.
The EU AI Act, which seeks to assess risk and require disclosures from general-purpose AI systems, has received pushback from tech giants that could find themselves in the crosshairs of multibillion-dollar fines.
Meanwhile, the US Department of Justice has also sought to curtail Google’s advances in AI as a remedy in a federal case that found its search business to be an illegal monopoly.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai in September last year announced a US$120 million investment fund to build AI education programs. Deputies, including Walker, and Alphabet president and chief investment officer Ruth Porat are increasingly traveling globally to discuss policy recommendations with governments.
“There’s a lot of upside in terms of helping people who may be displaced by this. We do want to focus on that,” Walker said.
Efforts include expanding Grow with Google, an online and in-person program that provides training tools for businesses and teaches workers skills such as data analysis or information technology support that are meant to expand their career prospects in technical fields.
Google last month said that 1 million people had obtained a certificate for the program.
Program head Lisa Gevelber said it is adding specialized courses related to AI, such as one geared toward teachers, program head.
Courses alone are not enough to prepare workers, Walker said.
“What really matters is if you have some sort of objective that people are working towards, like a credential that people can use to apply for a job,” he added.
Google wants to increase experimentation on public-private partnerships, Walker said, citing the “Skilled Trades and Readiness” program as an example, in which the company has partnered with community colleges to train workers for potential jobs constructing data centers.
Google is incorporating AI education into the program, he said.
“Ultimately, the federal government will look and see which proofs of concept are playing out — which of the green shoots are taking root,” Walker said. “If we can help fertilize that effort, that’s our role.”
In the long term, Walker said he expects a small fraction of existing jobs to be entirely displaced by AI, citing several studies commissioned by Google, Goldman Sachs Group Inc and McKinsey & Co. Those studies suggest AI will be incorporated into most jobs in some capacity.
As part of Google's efforts to prepare for this shift, it hired economist David Autor as a visiting fellow to study the impacts of AI on the workforce. Autor said in an interview that AI could be used to create more immersive training programs, akin to flight simulators.
“The history of adult retraining is not particularly glorious,” he said. “Adults don’t want to go back to class. Classroom training is not going to be the solution to a lot of retraining.”
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