Google CEO Sundar Pichai: 5 Boldest AI Remarks From Google Cloud Next Keynote

‘[AI] will touch every sector, every industry, every business function, and significantly changed the way we live and work,’ says Google CEO Sundar Pichai at Google Cloud Next.

Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai kicked off Google Cloud Next today by with bullish remarks about his company’s goals and new innovation launched around artificial intelligence, and more specifically, generative AI.

“[AI] will touch every sector, every industry, every business function, and significantly change the way we live and work,” said Pichai on stage in front of thousands of Google partners and customers at Google Cloud Next 2023 today. “This isn’t just the future. We are already starting to experience the benefits right now. As a company, we’ve been preparing for this moment for some time.”

Google’s cloud arm, Google Cloud, held its largest in-person event in years this week in San Francisco with an estimated 18,000 people in attendance.

The Mountain View, Calif.-based tech giant unveiled a slew of new AI products as well as injecting generative AI capabilities into flagship cloud products Google Cloud Platform (GCP), Google Workspace—which includes Gmail, Google Meet, Chat, Drive and more— as well as into Google’s Search engine.

“We have spent the last 25 years trying to perfect Google Search. And by the way, we are still not done,” said Pichai. “Today, we are using generative AI to reimagine their experience and take more of the work out of searching.”

Google unveiled today new Duet AI integration into Google Workspace and GCP. Duet AI is an AI-powered collaborator aimed at taking productivity to new heights. The technology can create text and images for documents, take meeting nots, and generate automatic summaries. Since its launch earlier this year, thousands of companies have used Duet AI as a “powerful collaboration partner” that can act as a coach, source of inspiration, and productivity booster — all while ensuring every user and organization has control over their data, Pichai said.

Speaking in front of thousands of partners and customers, CRN breaks down Google CEO Sundar Pichai’s most bullish remarks on stage at Google Cloud Next 2023 today at the Moscone Center in San Francisco on AI, his vision and Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian.

‘More Than One Million People Are Already Using Duet AI In Google Workspace’

“[One] area we are excited about is how generative AI can transform how businesses get things done. At our Google I/O [conference], we previewed Duet AI. We think of it like an intelligent collaborative, one that’s always by your side.

More than one million people are already using Duet AI in Google Workspace to write in Gmail, and Google Docs, create custom Google Sheets, generate images from text descriptions in Google Slides and much more.

As people have been testing, we’ll be listening and rapidly improving based on their feedback. And starting today, we are announcing the general availability of Dual AI in Google Workspace.”

Background: Dual AI in Workspace was unveiled in May in preview-only. It is now generally available. Google will charge about $30 per user for access to Duet for large organizations.

‘Tens-Of-Thousands Of Developers Are Now Using’ Vertex AI

“[We are] only scratching the surface of what we have seen since making our foundation models available through our cloud AI platform called Vertex AI.

Since March, tens-of-thousands of developers are now using over 100 AI models on Vertex, building generative AI applications. We are working with partners across our open ecosystem to expand the variety of models customers can choose. So they have the right model for whatever they want to create.”

Background: Launched in 2023, Google said Vertex AI combines data engineering, data science, and machine learning engineering workflows, that enables teams to collaborate using a common toolset and scale applications using the benefits of Google Cloud. The company launched several new Vertex AI products this week.

Sundar Pichai Boasts Of Thomas Kurian’s Success

“As I was walking over to the [Moscone] convention center this morning, I remember that the last time we were on the stage was back in 2019.

Thomas [Kurian] had recently join us Google Cloud CEO. He shared his vision for helping customers through digital transformation. I remember feeling like it was the start of something really exciting.

Fast forward four years, Thomas and his team have built Google Cloud into one of the top enterprise companies in the world.”

Background: Thomas Kurian was appointed CEO of Google Cloud in early 2019. He took Google Cloud from roughly being a roughly $5.8 billion cloud company in 2018, to now a whopping $32 billion cloud titan.

AI Will Be ‘One Of The Most Profound Shifts We’ll See In Our Lifetimes’

“In my conversations with business leaders over the past few years, I’ve heard a similar theme: They want a partner that’s been on the cutting edge of technology breakthroughs—the from desktop to mobile, to the cloud, and now to AI. And a partner who can help navigate and lead them. These shifts can be really exciting. They can also bring uncertainty.

That’s definitely true of the shift to AI. It’ll be one of the most profound shifts we’ll see in our lifetimes. It will touch every sector, every industry, every business function, and significantly changed the way we live and work.

This isn’t just the future. We are already starting to experience the benefits right now. As a company, we’ve been preparing for this moment for some time.”

Background: Pichai said Google has taken an AI-first approach for the past seven years, which will continue for the decade. “We believe that making AI helpful for everyone is the most important way will deliver on our mission in the next decade,” he said.

‘We All Need To Be Clear-Eyed About The Potential Challenges’ In AI

“As exciting as the AI opportunity is, we all need to be clear-eyed about the potential challenges.

That’s why Google Cloud is so committed to developing and deploying technologies responsibly, with privacy, security, and safety at the goal, and guided by our long-standing AI principles.

We will continue to be bold and responsible in our AI approach, and make these powerful tools accessible so everyone can benefit.

We truly believe we are embarking on a golden age of innovation. And we are excited for what we will build together with all of you.”

Background: For years, Google has touted that one of its main goals is to make AI responsible and safer.