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\u2019t really matter whether you reached A.G.I. or not, because the systems are going to be very, very capable, and Google\u2019s 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\u2019s 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?<\/p>\n
Pichai: There is inevitable progress toward A.G.I. that\u2019s happening. I have long understood it, otherwise I wouldn\u2019t 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 \u2014 which is three years out \u2014 will be so much more powerful than what we have today that I don\u2019t want people to think that because A.G.I. is 10 years out, you don\u2019t need to act or prepare.<\/p>\n
Roose: Are you A.G.I.-pilled?<\/p>\n
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\u2019s 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\u2019s 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\u2019s. 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.<\/p>\n
Newton: As a last question, one of the more memorable phrases from the keynote this year came from Demis, when he said that we\u2019re in the \u201cfoothills of the singularity.\u201d Can you tell us concretely what that means from Google\u2019s perspective? And should people be excited about that, or afraid, or both?<\/p>\n
Pichai: I have had many conversations with Demis on this topic. In this context, he is defining \u201csingularity\u201d as the advent of A.G.I. If you believe that, it makes sense to you, that\u2019s what you\u2019re articulating. For him, that\u2019s how he defines singularity. I think that myself and many others feel it\u2019s important to articulate that, if that\u2019s what you believe, because we are all at the frontier building this technology, and hopefully people are listening. It\u2019s important as a society that we are internalizing that and getting ready for it.<\/p>\n
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