Google CEO Sundar Pichai has today stated artificial intelligence (AI) will be essential in humanity’s future and could even be used to fight cancer.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, the 47-year-old Google chief, who is also the top boss of Alphabet, added AI will be more profound for humanity than fire and electricity.
He earmarked healthcare as the specific sector where AI will have the most significant impact.
Mr Pichai said today that if used properly, AI will drastically improve outcomes for gravely ill patients over the next five to 10 years.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, the 47-year-old Google chief , who is also the top boss of Alphabet, added AI will be more profound for humanity than fire and electricity
‘When we work with hospitals, the data belongs to the hospitals,’ Pichai told a conference panel at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
‘But look at the potential here. Cancer if often missed and the difference in outcome is profound.
‘In lung cancer, for example, five experts agree this way and five agree the other way. We know we can use artificial intelligence to make it better,’ Pichai added.
Google has spent several years developing artificial intelligence to automatically analyse MRI scans and other patient data to identify diseases.
It is also capable of making predictions designed to improve outcomes while simultaneously reducing costs.
US lawmakers asked the company in November to provide information about other health systems that provide information to Google.
Pichai said there was already strong privacy protecting regulations in place that provide a framework for Google to operate.
Sundar Pichai (pictured) said today that if used properly, AI will drastically improve outcomes for gravely ill patients over the next five to 10 years.
In addition to his comments about artificial intelligence, Mr Pichai also touched on the topic of privacy.
He said it can not be viewed as a ‘luxury good’ and pointed to the European GDPR as a template for other parts of the world to follow.
‘Users come to Google at very important moments, ask us questions, we deal with people’s sensitive information in Gmail, Google Photos and so on, and so we have to earn their trust,’ he said during a session at the World Economic Forum.
Speaking earlier this week, Mr Pichai called for international cooperation on regulating artificial intelligence technology to ensure it is ‘harnessed for good.
Pichai said ‘nefarious’ uses of facial recognition and misinformation on the internet, such as deepfakes, are examples of the negative consequences of AI.
These are lessons that teach us ‘we need to be clear-eyed about what could go wrong’ in the development of AI-based technologies, he said.
Source: Dailymail
