Roose: The last time we had you on, we asked you about A.G.I. and your feelings about the term. At the time, you responded that it didn’t really matter whether you reached A.G.I. or not, because the systems are going to be very, very capable, and Google’s strategy should be the same. I noticed that you did not say A.G.I. in your keynote. Demis [Hassabis] did, but you did not. What’s your relationship with the term A.G.I. today, and the idea that all of this progress is building toward something singular and world-changing?
Pichai: There is inevitable progress toward A.G.I. that’s happening. I have long understood it, otherwise I wouldn’t have pivoted the company 10 years ago to put that technology at the heart and center of the company. All I meant by that statement was that even in the scenario where A.G.I. is going to take 10 years, the technology — which is three years out — will be so much more powerful than what we have today that I don’t want people to think that because A.G.I. is 10 years out, you don’t need to act or prepare.
Roose: Are you A.G.I.-pilled?
Pichai: I absolutely am sure that the technology is making foundational progress toward A.G.I. I am less able to predict with certainty whether it’s in the three-to-five-year time frame or the five- to 10-year time frame. The rate of progress over the last one to two years has made me feel it’s on the closer side than not. In my role running one of the largest companies in the world, which has a responsibility to society, the language I choose to use around it might be different than other people’s. But 10 years ago on the I/O stage, I announced T.P.U.s and A.I.-first data centers. Yes, we clearly understood where this technology is headed.
Newton: As a last question, one of the more memorable phrases from the keynote this year came from Demis, when he said that we’re in the “foothills of the singularity.” Can you tell us concretely what that means from Google’s perspective? And should people be excited about that, or afraid, or both?
Pichai: I have had many conversations with Demis on this topic. In this context, he is defining “singularity” as the advent of A.G.I. If you believe that, it makes sense to you, that’s what you’re articulating. For him, that’s how he defines singularity. I think that myself and many others feel it’s important to articulate that, if that’s what you believe, because we are all at the frontier building this technology, and hopefully people are listening. It’s important as a society that we are internalizing that and getting ready for it.
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