AI is already squeezing some entry-level roles, but the CEO of Google says even the top corporate job isn’t safe.
“I think what a CEO does is maybe one of the easier things maybe for an AI to do one day,” Sundar Pichai told the BBC in an interview that aired Tuesday.
The Google boss said he believes AI will soon be able to perform more tasks autonomously, where the AI model acts like an “agent” on the user’s behalf.
“I think the next step in the next 12 months, you will see the evolution being that they can do more complex tasks for you,” he said.
Pichai’s comments echo those of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.
“I think there will come a time when AI can be a much better CEO of OpenAI than me — and I will be nothing but enthusiastic the day that happens,” Altman said in an interview with Axel Springer CEO last month (Axel Springer is the owner of Business Insider).
Pichai said the fast pace of AI development has the potential to benefit society by creating new opportunities and freeing people up to focus on other things. However, he also acknowledged that it will and “people will need to adapt.”
“It has potential for extraordinary benefits, and we will have to work through societal disruptions,” Pichai said.
AI is already shaking up the job market. A recent study by Indeed found that software engineers and product managers were most favored by the AI ax. However, the technology is creating new jobs too.
“It will create new opportunities,” said Pichai. “It will evolve and transition certain jobs, and people will need to adapt. And then there will be areas where it will impact some jobs, so as a society, I think we need to have that conversation.”
Pichai was also pressed on his tips for young people who are navigating a world being transformed by AI.
“I would encourage the next generation to embrace the technology, learn to use it in the context of what you do. And I think people who learn to adopt and adapt will do better,” he said.
“It doesn’t matter whether you want to be a teacher or a doctor — all of those professions will be around, but the people who well in each of those professions are the people who learn to use these tools,” he said.
