Google CEO Sundar Pichai thinks the answer to better privacy may be AI
RANCHOS PALOS VERDES, California — Echoing the theme of this year's Code Conference, Google CEO Sundar Pichai pointed to the company's work in machine learning and AI as a possible solution to people's ongoing concerns about Google and the privacy of their personal data.
Pichai sounded a little frustrated when Recode's Walt Mossberg raised the specter of privacy concerns. "Today, every time we do important things, people ask this question all the time," he said.
However, the Google CEO was quick to add that the onus is on Google.
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"The bar is on us to give enough value that people trust us," said Pichai.
Soon, he said, users will be able to adjust privacy settings by saying their name. Eventually, users will be able to dismiss hours of data tracking simply by speaking to Google, noted Pichai.
Pichai: "Intelligent computing should have true conversational understanding."
Privacy concerns will not stop or slow down Google's march toward more intelligent systems. Like others who spoke at Code, Pichai sees this as the early days of AI.
"Part of being able to build a smart system is being able to understand users," he said, "We think this will evolve over time. It will grow and evolve. We don’t want to constrain ourselves in any single way at this early stage."
Pichai focused particularly on the ability for computers to carry on conversations as humans currently do. "For me, intelligent computing should have true conversational understanding. I think we have a long ways to go to get there," he said.
When Mossberg asked Pichai to address his competitors in the space -- Apple and Amazon -- Pichai said they were all great competitors and that the situation is less like The Game of Thrones than the NBA finals.
He did note, however, that in the coming competition between Amazon Echo and Google's just-announced Google Home, they will still continue to focus on building up the conversational abilities. "In the next five to ten years, building true conversational understanding -- building the dialogue -- is where we plan to differentiate. Hardware is just a manifestation of that."
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Topics Artificial Intelligence Google
Lance Ulanoff was Chief Correspondent and Editor-at-Large of Mashable. Lance acted as a senior member of the editing team, with a focus on defining internal and curated opinion content. He also helped develop staff-wide alternative story-telling skills and implementation of social media tools during live events. Prior to joining Mashable in September 2011 Lance Ulanoff served as Editor in Chief of PCMag.com and Senior Vice President of Content for the Ziff Davis, Inc. While there, he guided the brand to a 100% digital existence and oversaw content strategy for all of Ziff Davis’ Web sites. His long-running column on PCMag.com earned him a Bronze award from the ASBPE. Winmag.com, HomePC.com and PCMag.com were all been honored under Lance’s guidance.He makes frequent appearances on national, international, and local news programs including Fox News, the Today Show, Good Morning America, Kelly and Michael, CNBC, CNN and the BBC.He has also offered commentary on National Public Radio and been interviewed by newspapers and radio stations around the country. Lance has been an invited guest speaker at numerous technology conferences including SXSW, Think Mobile, CEA Line Shows, Digital Life, RoboBusiness, RoboNexus, Business Foresight and Digital Media Wire’s Games and Mobile Forum.
