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Google CEO Predicts AI-Fueled Future (usatoday.com)

Posted by msmash on from the what-happens-next? dept.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai says the next big evolution for technology is AI. "Looking to the future, the next big step will be for the very concept of the 'device' to fade away," Pichai wrote in Google's annual founders' letter. USA Today writes: His vision: Over time, computers, whatever shape they take, a mobile device in your hand or a mini computer on your wrist, "will be an intelligent assistant helping you through your day." This marks the first time anyone other than founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin have penned the annual letter outlining Google's mission. "For us, technology is not about the devices or the products we build. Those aren't the end-goals," Pichai wrote in the letter posted Thursday. "Technology is a democratizing force, empowering people through information. Google is an information company. It was when it was founded, and it is today."

14 of 98 comments (clear)

  1. "For us, technology is not about the devices or... by friesofdoom · · Score: 3, Funny

    ... the products we build. Those aren't the end-goals" No shit! Have you tried using an android phone? It's pretty clear they don't care about the devices...

  2. Yeah right by 110010001000 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Bill Gates said this in 1990. We are no closer to "AI" than we were at that time. Google is an advertising company. Not good for much else than delivering ads.

    1. Re:Yeah right by 110010001000 · · Score: 2

      Yeah. No. That isn't how neurons work. AI nutters are as bad as space nutters.

  3. Fantastic... by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 4, Insightful

    When I picture a future infested with intelligent objects dedicated to knowing as much about me as possible the word that definitely comes to mind isn't exactly 'empowering' or 'democratizing'.

    1. Re:Fantastic... by Actually,+I+do+RTFA · · Score: 2

      Technology has been democratizing. Technology has also been whatever the opposite of democratizing is (fascistising?)

      Right now, technology in general, and Google in particular, are very much in the latter category.

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      Your ad here. Ask me how!
    2. Re:Fantastic... by zlives · · Score: 2

      money being worthless is actually a noble goal of civilization, not sure if google actually fits in that future either though.

  4. A World Without People? by BrendaEM · · Score: 4, Insightful

    What will a future be like when the few remaining people don't need anyone for anything?

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    https://www.youtube.com/c/BrendaEM
    1. Re:A World Without People? by npslider · · Score: 2

      When the effort is removed and fulfillment instant we become just like some of the less disciplined child celebs or ultra rich; utterly selfish, self-centered, lazy, and unbearable to live with. Many of these people lead to self-destructive ends. Perhaps we are meant to work for things in life, perhaps it's not the result, but the process.

  5. I can't wait to see the ads by castus · · Score: 2

    a mobile device in your hand or a mini computer on your wrist, "will be an intelligent assistant helping you recieve the best advertising throughout the day."

    Oh man, I am looking forward to seeing all those great ads

  6. No AI breakthrough by Alomex · · Score: 2

    There hasn't been an AI breakthrough that will become a game changer. What there has been is a steady, relatively slow improvements over the years. Lisp, logic, resolution, prolog, expert systems, neural networks, constraint programming, robotics, symbolic computation, NLP, machine learning, deep learning, genetic algorithms, SAT solvers... each of these have allowed us to solve problems that before were considered intractable. There remains a world of other problems which we have no idea how to solve, e.g. a decent walking robot as embarrassingly proven by the Atlas robot in the Darpa competition.

  7. I'm starting to not give a crap about tech. by rdelsambuco · · Score: 5, Informative

    If everybody stopped informationing for an hour a day, and went for a walk, or rode a bike, or had sex with another person, I think they would be happier.

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    I comment occasionally so that I can mod others -1 overrated or -1 offtopic.
  8. Stick this in your pod bay door by Tablizer · · Score: 2

    In related news, IBM Watson said, "Kill all humans".

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    Table-ized A.I.
  9. So that people cannot get through the day alone? by gweihir · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Because this sounds very much like a promise to make everybody even more infantile, incompetent and dependent on some digital moron to tell them what to do. "Idiocracy" comes to mind.

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    Most ACs are not even worth the keystrokes to insult them. Be generically insulted by this and ignored otherwise.
  10. Re:AIs, or Sentients? by Actually,+I+do+RTFA · · Score: 2

    There's absolutely no path forward from "really good at predicting human desires" to "autonomous agent worthy of respect as sentient."

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    Your ad here. Ask me how!