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We tell you what Google CEO Sundar Pichai thinks about quantum computers and why technology is just a tool, not a panacea
It took Sundar Pichai five years to get a phone in his country, India, and when people began to come to his house to call loved ones, he realized that technology can not only simplify people’s lives, but also unite them. In an interview with the BBC, the CEO of Google and Alphabet told why 2004 was the starting point in his career development and whether humanity is ready for the rise of artificial intelligence. Trends lead the main theses.
Technological breakthroughs and the relevance of innovation
Of course, it is important not only to have talent, but also to be at the right time in the right place. Back in 2004, the advantage of Google was that the people who worked there were optimists and idealists: they supported any ideas, even if they understood what was at stake. This is what happens now: when you tell an idea, the team tries to help develop it.
Technology automatically creates progress, even if people are not ready for it. Before you create something, you need to ask yourself a few questions: “Are we doing enough, and will our ideas be relevant in 10-15 years?”
Technology is a tool in the hands of man
Technology does not solve the problems facing humanity. Of course, they are a powerful tool in the hands of people: someone uses them for good, and someone – for bad purposes. But even here one cannot blame technological progress: technology is controlled by people. It is important to realize that people create problems – they also eradicate them. Technology can push, help find a way out.
Technology is a tool that can reduce inequality. This can be illustrated by the example of education – now almost everyone has access to the World Wide Web, where you can find a lot of information. However, some people think that by introducing technology into the learning process, you can automatically achieve better results. But this is not true. Technology is a tool, and only a person decides how to use it. A student, a teacher themselves should want to take as much as possible from technology.
The potential of artificial intelligence and quantum computers
The development of artificial intelligence can play a fundamental role in many aspects of our lives. The use of this technology is relevant in education, the production of things, in obtaining information. Even now, artificial intelligence is changing lives: it’s worth remembering at least how music apps become DJs by analyzing our preferences and offering us music selections. The next level is personal assistants who can take care of health or be assistants in professions.
Henry Kissinger, an American statesman and diplomat, in his article “How the Age of Enlightenment Will End” said that humanity is not yet ready for the rise of artificial intelligence. Sundar Pichai thinks differently: he is sure that the abilities of people are underestimated, because once they managed to cope with such challenges as the First World War, the Spanish flu pandemic, World War II and the Great Depression. People are also ready for artificial intelligence: moreover, it can become a tool for uniting in solving global problems.
It is not given to a person to grasp the complexity of the world – there are many barriers and restrictions for this. Quantum computers cannot be applied everywhere, but there are areas in which they are indispensable. Quanta allow you to feel the world more subtly, to penetrate into its depths, to understand the nature of things. Awareness of this allows you to create improved batteries, perhaps to simulate the weather. The next step for Google is to build a quantum computer that can correct errors and make it robust. Qubits are very fragile and unstable – even slight radiation can affect them.
Data access
Google has repeatedly faced problems related to the leakage and distribution of user data. In 2012, Google was accused of collecting and distributing personal data. However, according to Pichai, the company now has enough tools to keep its users safe, including the ability to change privacy settings and the information that the browser will track.
Now, users are still skeptical about privacy issues, but not so much in terms of security, but because personal information is becoming a tool for monetization through advertising. In his book The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, Shoshana Zuboff, a professor of social psychology at Harvard University, describes the economic system of “surveillance capitalism” that large corporations such as Google and Microsoft have built around themselves. The author cites the position that companies turn users’ personal information into capital, increasing their wealth on data. This, according to Pichai, is a bit biased. First, Google has become a business development platform. Companies can freely post information about themselves, use the service’s tools to find their audience and expand their business. Secondly, users can disable the data transfer function.