By Kenrick Cai
SAN FRANCISCO -Alphabet’s Google, already facing an unprecedented regulatory onslaught, is looking to shape public perception and policies on artificial intelligence ahead of a global wave of AI regulation.
A key priority, one executive told Reuters, comes in building out educational programs to train the workforce on AI.
“Getting more people and organizations, 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 U.S., the Justice Department 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 multibillion-dollar fines.
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 $120 million investment fund to build AI education programs. Deputies including Walker and Ruth Porat, president and chief investment officer, are increasingly traveling 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 program that provides training tools for businesses and teaches workers skills like data analysis or IT support that are meant to expand their career prospects in technical fields.
In December, the company said 1 million people had obtained a certificate for the program. It is adding specialized courses related to AI, such as one geared toward teachers, said program head Lisa Gevelber.
