Google pushes global agenda to educate workers, lawmakers on AI

Kenrick Cai - Reuters - 25/01
Google already faces a regulatory onslaught on many fronts.
  • Google to invest $120 million in AI education programs
  • Google faces regulatory scrutiny in AI, advertising, and search
  • Google partners with colleges for AI job training programs
SAN FRANCISCO, Jan 25 - Alphabet’s (GOOGL.O), opens new tab Google, already facing an unprecedented regulatory onslaught, is looking to shape public perception and policies on artificial intelligence ahead of a global wave of AI regulation.
A key priority, one executive told Reuters, comes in building out educational programs to train the workforce on AI.
“Getting more people and organizations, including governments, familiar with AI and using AI tools, makes for better AI policy and opens up new opportunities – it's a virtuous cycle,” said Kent Walker, Alphabet's president of global affairs.
As Google races to best Big Tech rivals including Microsoft-backed (MSFT.O), opens new tab OpenAI and Meta (META.O), opens new tab in the AI arena, it is mindful of the heavy regulatory scrutiny it faces in its existing businesses in advertising and search.
In the European Union, Google has offered to sell a part of its ad tech business to appease regulators, Reuters reported. In the U.S., the Justice Department is attempting to force a breakup of its Chrome Web browser — though it may shift course under the administration of President Donald Trump.
Meanwhile, governments globally are drafting new regulations on issues that could be exacerbated by AI, such as copyright and privacy. The EU AI Act, which seeks to assess risk and require disclosures from general-purpose AI systems, has received pushback...
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