Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai announced a $120 million ‘Global AI Opportunity Fund’ to make artificial intelligence (AI) education and training available in communities around the world.
Pichai, speaking at the UN Summit of the Future in the US, said the proposed fund will help provide the education and training on AI in local languages, in partnership with nonprofits and NGOs.
Leaders from around the world have gathered for the 79th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York – including the first-ever “Summit of the Future”.
Speaking at the event, Pichai said that “growing up in Chennai, India, with my family, the arrival of each new technology improved our lives in meaningful ways”, IANS reported.
“The technology that changed my life the most was the computer. I didn’t have much access to one growing up.
“When I came to graduate school in the US, there were labs full of machines I could use anytime I wanted – it was mind-blowing. Access to computing inspired me to pursue a career where I could bring technology to more people,” he said.
Pichai said that the company has been investing in AI research, tools, and infrastructure for two decades.
“Using AI, in just the last year, we have added 110 new languages to Google Translate, spoken by half a billion people around the world.
“That brings our total to 246 languages, and we’re working toward 1,000 of the world’s most spoken languages,” said the Google CEO.
Some studies show that AI could boost global labour productivity by 1.4 percentage points, and increase global GDP by 7 per cent, within the next decade.
For example, AI is helping improve operations and logistics in emerging markets, where connectivity, infrastructure and traffic congestion are big challenges.
Pichai said that AI must be developed, deployed, and used responsibly, from the start.
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