The boss of Google has issued a terrifying warning on the impact of AI and it has left everybody saying the same thing.
Head of Google’s parent company Alphabet, Sundar Pichai, explained that while the growth of investments in artificial intelligence has been an ‘extraordinary moment’, there has been some ‘irrationality’ in the boom.
During an interview with BBC News, Pichai was asked about whether Google would be impacted by the AI bubble bursting, to which he replied: “I think no company is going to be immune, including us.”
Amid the rise of AI and its boom on the stock market, fears have grown that we could be heading for a financial collapse similar to those seen during the surge of early internet firms in the early 2000s.
Advert
Back in 1996, the US Federal Reserve chairman, Alan Greenspan, warned that there was ‘irrational exuberance’ in the market, which is similar to the warning issued by Pichai.
He continued: “We can look back at the internet right now. There was clearly a lot of excess investment, but none of us would question whether the internet was profound.
“I expect AI to be the same. So I think it’s both rational and there are elements of irrationality through a moment like this.”
The CEO also addressed the ‘immense’ amount of energy that is needed to power AI, adding: “You don’t want to constrain an economy based on energy, and I think that will have consequences.”
The tech boss’ warning has led to a lot of people taking to social media to share their own reactions, with many sharing similar sentiments on the matter.
On Reddit, one user wrote: “You're giving us too much hope.”
Another said: “I will be drinking champagne when this happens.”
A third person commented: “I can’t wait for it to pop.”
And a fourth added: “They are starting to see the writing on the wall. Hope this bubble pops soon.”
While Pichai went on to acknowledge that the rise of AI will affect work in certain industries, he claimed that this is something ‘we will have to work through’, adding that it will ‘create new opportunities’.
The CEO continued: “It will evolve and transition certain jobs, and people will need to adapt.
“It doesn’t matter whether you want to be a teacher [or] a doctor. All those professions will be around, but the people who will do well in each of those professions are people who learn how to use these tools.”