So yesterday, I talked about President Donald Trump signing an AI initiative. This will promote AI in the workplace, and other areas of life. You would think IT service companies would be happy. But not so much. Google warns of AI.
So in an annual report, Google/Alphabet says AI could have negative impacts on their business. They really worry about ethics. Yes, obviously there is still a very high demand for their services and goods. That’s why Alphabet is still the biggest and most far-reaching corporation in the world. However, Google leaders fear that AI things like machine learning could raise ethical and legal concerns. Could those concerns cause Google to lose business?
But they know trying to avoid AI controversy can be a slippery slope. It already is. For example, take the Pixel 3. It’s a smartphone that prides itself on machine learning, but that machine learning got them in trouble. It’s machine learning created issues of privacy invasion. As a result, sales went down. Then there was Project Maven. That built this AI system for military drones. But the outcry from privacy rights and human rights groups was loud and intense. Google backed down. In fact, in June 2018, they pledged they would no longer support AI that threatened human rights.
Now, they face controversy over handling China’s lack of human rights. But now Google/Alphabet says they won’t participate in their censorship ways. Now, Google warns of AI. You know what? I’m proud of Goodle/Alphabet. It’s because of people like you and me, who are raising awareness about AI, and put the pressure on. Google seems to be getting the message. Please don’t think I’m anti-AI. I’m not. In it’s place, it can do a world of good. However, when people, corporations and governments abuse AI, it can lead to disaster. That’s the concern. I’m glad Google warns of AI, and it’s learning from their past experiences. Wouldn’t it be great if other IT support corporations do the same?