A Google executive has underscored the importance of getting Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology right, telling the BBC that it is "imperative" to do so.
Matt Brittin, president of Google for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, declared that it has the potential to lead to "huge breakthroughs" over many industries.
An ongoing worldwide discussion concerning the possible perils and advantages of AI has been taking place for some time.
As Google entered into an agreement with the University of Cambridge to collaborate on research, Mr Brittin was addressing the crowd.
Google will fund the university's new Centre for Human-Inspired AI with a grant. This Centre, which will house academics and scientists from Cambridge and Google, will be a joint venture.
The agreement set up for the long-term will encompass a variety of topics, such as robotics, healthcare, and climate change.
Before the UK's AI safety summit at Bletchley Park, the government has forged a partnership, in the expectation that some of the top names in the sector will be attending.
The debate about the possible advantages of AI is becoming more fervent, leading regulators in numerous countries to come up with rules for this rapidly evolving field.
If we are successful, there could be remarkable achievements in health, the possibility of unlimited, clean energy, and a society in which everyone can take advantage of educational opportunities as well as powerful and intelligent technology.
Mr Brittin declared that this was a tremendous chance for them to do it.
Zoubin Ghahramani, who is both the Vice President of Research at Google DeepMind and a Professor of Information Engineering at Cambridge University, informed the BBC that the research conducted through the new centre might contribute to solving climate issues.
AI is being employed to optimise flight paths in order to diminish the quantity of contrails, i.e. the vapour trails left in the sky by aeroplanes.
Prof Ghahramani remarked that, although it may not appear to be an obvious application, addressing the consequences of air travel is in fact very useful.
Mr Brittin declared that Google and its AI arm, DeepMind, have had a long-term emphasis on sustainability and ways to confront the climate crisis. He noted that their research aids in cutting down energy consumption and costs in the technology giant's data centres.
In 2007, Mr Brittin joined the company when they achieved carbon neutrality, becoming one of the world's largest buyers of renewables. He further stated that Google's UK power purchase deals mean their services in the UK will be mostly carbon-free by the year 2025.
He also indicated global initiatives such as programming traffic lights to lower contamination, and consulting Google Maps to locate fuel-sparing routes or the optimal area for solar panels.
Nevertheless, some have raised worries that the AI transformation Google is assisting in advancing is resulting in tremendous harm to the environment, with a professor characterizing it as "a colossal extractive industry of the twenty-first century".
A recent survey proposed that the remarkable expansion of the sector might shortly see it consuming as much energy as a nation with the magnitude of the Netherlands, prompting its creator to state AI ought to be utilized only when utterly essential.
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