Royal Hansen, vice president of privacy, safety and security engineering at Google, addresses the pressure to slow AI development, and whether the US is equipped to win the AI race on the energy front and reach the next frontier for innovation.
Google CEO Royal Hansen responded to calls from some lawmakers to slow the development of artificial intelligence (AI) in the US, emphasizing the need to develop and use the technology taking responsibility instead of falling behind other countries.
“It’s really… this idea of being responsible as we invest in and develop AI, because there are a lot of benefits to using AI well, whether it’s in energy production, healthcare or science,” he told The Sunday Briefing.
“But in the field of cybersecurityHe continued, “It’s an area where we need to protect people and at the same time help people learn to use AI well.”
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This undated photo taken at an unknown location shows a protester holding an anti-AI sign. (iStock / iStock)
Hansen later pointed to energy as a key area of focus for AI development, citing the “Genesis Mission”, an ongoing collaboration between technology companies, the Department of Energy and the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP).
The initiative, signed last month by President Donald Trump, aims to accelerate the use of AI for scientific research.
“I think [it’s] a great example of the intersection between AI and energy,” said Hansen.
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Google headquarters in Mountain View, California. (Marlena Sloss/Bloomberg via Getty Images/Getty Images)
“She [federal agencies] have the national laboratories, which are among the best scientists in the world. If we can work with AI and technologies like quantum, as they become available, to solve some of these energy problems, it can actually become a very nice virtuous cycle where we improve the science, we improve the energy and we, as American innovation, win.”
Hansen also pointed to cybersecurity as another area where AI is already being used defensively, noting that while attackers are increasingly using the technology, companies are developing AI-powered tools to protect systems at scale.
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