Google CEO Sundar Pichai highlighted that in mobile adoption, a majority of people in India gained access to phones than the previous generations and these kinds of technological shifts help with penetration
Google CEO Sundar Pichai expressed optimism about India's role in shaping global AI development during a roundtable at Google's annual Google I/O 2024 conference. Speaking to Mint, Pichai highlighted the potential for technology shifts to serve as significant opportunities for emerging countries like India. He remarked, “For India and other emerging countries, technology shifts are opportunities to catch up or leap ahead”.
Pichai pointed out that while India may not match developed countries in computing penetration, it excels in mobile adoption, with more people accessing mobile phones than in past generations. He noted that many in India bypassed traditional landline phones, opting instead for cellular phones. He believes that each technological transition offers a chance to broaden technology access, which applies to AI as well.
Attracting developers to its Gemini-driven AI ecosystem is a key strategy for Google. Pichai shared that many of these developers are from India, emphasizing the country's significant role. He stated, “India is the number one geography for a lot of our products in terms of our user base. To serve them, we’re very committed to bringing these same AI tools as globally. We see a lot of developer activity from India on top of our AI platforms already. I think this will be an exciting moment, and India will be well positioned as the shift to AI happens.”
Google products, particularly YouTube and Google Search, enjoy immense popularity in India, with YouTube boasting over 480 million active users from the country. Pichai said, “Our work is particularly applicable in products like Search and YouTube, and as we deploy AI, part of the reason why we’re working on products like SynthID and AI-assisted red teaming is to stay ahead of these problems.”
With ongoing elections in India, Google has introduced the SynthID tool to watermark content and combat AI manipulation, amid notable deepfake incidents involving public figures such as Ranveer Singh and Amir Khan.
Addressing the challenges AI poses in elections, Pichai shared his views on the rapid advancement of technology and its implications. He explained, “Given the pace of the technology’s progress, we’ve all been worried about deepfakes. So far, we’re fortunate at least in this year that as a society, we’re able to still easily adjudicate what is real and what isn’t. In combination with all the work we are doing, I’m cautiously optimistic that we’ll be able to do our part and handle all of it well. The stakes will get higher this year, but for now, I’m cautiously optimistic of where we are.”
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