Thomas Kurian of Google, head of the company's cloud sector, has reported to CNBC that Google is actively engaging in talks with European Union (EU) regulators to introduce regulations on artificial intelligence (AI). Kurian voiced his approval of the proposals that have been put forth by international authorities in order to control the unrestrained progress of the technology. The EU AI Act was recently ratified, requiring designers to submit their AI-generated outputs for assessment before they can be commercially distributed.
Google has been in constructive talks with EU regulators regarding the region's ambitious regulations for Artificial Intelligence (AI). This is part of a larger effort on behalf of the tech giant, and other companies, to build with AI responsibly and safely. Thomas Kurian, head of Google Cloud Computing, spoke exclusively to CNBC from the company's London office and emphasized the need to take a proactive approach to these matters.
Kurian elucidated the need for technology that can differentiate between human-generated and AI-generated content. Google has already unveiled a ‘watermarking’ solution for AI-generated images at their I/O event last month. Such tools of private sector-driven oversight for AI show the need for pre-regulatory approaches.
With AI capabilities evolving rapidly, tools like ChatGPT and Stability Diffusion are now available to allowing even more possibilities. Such advancement is being used by computer programmers for coding assistance.
Investigate further into CNBC's coverage on Nvidia's contributions to artificial intelligence (A.I.) and the concerns that the U.S. has over China's access. Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt has stated that elections could be difficult in the future due to A.I. and Chinese A.I. stocks have recently dropped due to the U.S. potentially implementing restrictions on chip exports.
Nvidia's technology is the basis for Artificial Intelligence (A.I.), which is the reason why the United States is concerned about China's access to it. Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt has warned that upcoming elections will be problematic, due to A.I. Chinese A.I. based stocks have dropped as the U.S. is considering restricting chip exports.
EU policymakers and regulators have expressed concern that generative AI models are making it easier to manufacture content which illegally copies protected works, and this harms creators who make money from royalty payments. The recently approved EU AI Act contains provisions to make sure training data for generative AI tools comply with copyright laws. Kurian stated that his company are providing tools, such as recognizing when content was generated by a model, to help with the enforcement of copyright. As AI is increasingly deployed, especially generative AI which can generate new content using user input, there is growing apprehension surrounding its usage and potential impacts such as job displacement, the spread of misinformation, and bias.
Google employees have raised questions about the pace of AI development in the company, with messages on its internal forum Memegen calling its launch of the generative AI chatbot Bard, made to rival Microsoft-backed OpenAI's ChatGPT, "rushed," "botched," and "un-Googley." Furthermore, high-profile former researchers Timnit Gebru and Geoffrey Hinton have expressed their reservations about Google's way of handling the development of AI, worrying that the aggressive push is out of control.
In response to this, Thomas Kurian, CEO of Google Cloud, insisted that the company is open to regulation of these technologies, citing their potential for power and misuse, and said that it is currently working with various governments in the EU and UK for this purpose.
The UK, US, and other countries have created frameworks for regulating AI, however, many tech industry insiders are concerned that regulators are not able to keep up with the quick advancement of the technology. As a result, many organizations have taken it upon themselves to introduce safety measures for AI development, rather than waiting for laws to be put in place.
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