ALPHABET’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, one executive said, comes in building out educational programmes to train the workforce on AI.
“Getting more people and organisations, including governments, familiar with AI and using AI tools, makes for better AI policy and opens up new opportunities – it’s a virtuous cycle,” said Kent Walker, Alphabet’s president of global affairs.
As Google races to best Big Tech rivals including Microsoft-backed OpenAI and Meta in the AI arena, it is mindful of the heavy regulatory scrutiny it faces in its existing businesses in advertising and search.
In the European Union, Google has offered to sell a part of its ad tech business to appease regulators, Reuters reported. In the US, the Justice Department (DOJ) is attempting to force a breakup of its Chrome Web browser – though it may shift course under the administration of President Donald Trump.
Meanwhile, 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 multi-billion dollar fines.
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The DOJ 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 executives see an opportunity to shape the narrative around a technology that has stoked emerging fears of mass job loss. CEO Sundar Pichai announced in September a US$120 million investment fund to build AI education programmes. Deputies including Walker and Ruth Porat, president and chief investment officer, are increasingly travelling 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, a combination online and in-person programme that provides training tools for businesses and teaches workers skills such as data analysis or IT support that are meant to expand their career prospects in technical fields.
In December, the company said one million people had obtained a certificate for the programme. It is adding specialised courses related to AI, such as one geared towards teachers, said programme head Lisa Gevelber.
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.”
Google wants to increase experimentation on public-private partnerships, he said. The leading example so far, he said, is the “Skilled Trades and Readiness” programme, in which the company has partnered with community colleges to train workers for potential jobs constructing data centres. Google is incorporating AI education into the programme, he added.
“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 fertilise 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 and McKinsey. 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 that AI could be used to create more immersive training programmes, 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.” REUTERS
