Google's current strategy: More AI, less people
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Google confirms it is laying off a huge number of its employees and using artificial intelligence instead.
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Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai speaks about Google DeepMind at a Google I/O event in Mountain View, Calif., May 10, 2023 (AP)
Google confirmed yesterday that it is eliminating "a few hundred" positions from its global ad team and replacing them with artificial intelligence for "efficiency and creativity."
It was expected that due to the small business ad campaign, more people would be hired by Google. However, the latter believes that the cuts to its "large customer" sales team will result in better support for small and medium-sized businesses advertising on Google's platform.
Google's cloud computing unit announced last week new AI tools to assist retailers "personalize online shopping, modernize operations, and transform in-store technology rollouts," referencing research findings that around 80% of US retailers feel it's urgent to embrace generative AI in their operations.
The Cloud's Vice President, Carrie Tharp, stated, "In only a year, generative AI has morphed from a barely recognized concept to one of the fastest-moving capabilities in all of technology and a critical part of many retailers' agendas."
Last year, Google also laid off around 12,000 people, about six percent of its workforce, amid inflation and rising interest rates.
What's coming?
The new Google AI tools provide personalized help and recommendations to shoppers by enabling retailers to easily embed virtual agents in websites or mobile.
Google wants to enhance discovery in online searches by utilizing AI to analyze product images and produce product descriptions or terms that would facilitate the search process.
'The Godfather of AI' warned us last year
According to US media, on May 2 last year, a computer scientist nicknamed "the godfather of artificial intelligence" left Google to speak out against the technology's hazards.
The New York Times quoted Geoffrey Hinton, who developed core technology for AI systems, as saying that advances in the subject presented "profound risks to society and humanity."
Hinton considers how AI has changed in the piece and says, "Look at how it was five years ago and how it is now," adding, "Take the difference and propagate it forwards. That's scary."
He further noted that rivalry among digital behemoths was causing corporations to reveal new AI technology at dangerously fast rates, putting employment at risk and spreading disinformation.
While AI has been used to assist human workers, the rapid expansion of chatbots such as ChatGPT may endanger jobs and "take away the drudge work."
In addition, the scientist cautioned about the possibility of AI-generated false information proliferating, warning The Times that the typical individual "will not be able to know what is true anymore."
