Have responsibility for getting things right in tech: Sundar Pichai
San Francisco, May 9: Amid a global call to regulate digital platforms and safeguard users' data privacy, Google's Indian-born CEO Sundar Pichai has reiterated that the tech companies have a "deep responsibility to get things right".
Kicking off the annual "Google I/O" developer conference at its Mountain View campus in California on Tuesday, Pichai said we're at an important inflection point in computing, and it's exciting to be driving technology forward.
"But it's clear that we cannot just be wide-eyed about what we create. There are very real and important questions being raised about the impact of technology and the role it will play in our lives," Pichai told the gathering of over 7,000 developers.
"We know the path ahead needs to be navigated carefully and deliberately -- and we feel a deep sense of responsibility to get this right," Pichai added.
Pichai's call came after Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella on Monday stressed that the company is determined to ensure users' data and is building secure solutions towards preserving data privacy.
"We have the responsibility to ensure that the new-age technology is empowering everyone, creating equitable growth for all while creating employment on the global scale," Nadella said at the annual Microsoft "Build 2018" developers' conference.
Echoing Nadella, the Google CEO said that "the need for useful and accessible information is as urgent today as it was when Google was founded nearly two decades ago".
"What's changed is our ability to organise information and solve complex, real-world problems thanks to advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI)," he added.
Betting big on AI, Pichai said there's a huge opportunity for this technology to transform many fields.
"Already we're seeing some encouraging applications in healthcare. We've also found that our AI models are able to predict medical events, such as hospital readmissions and length of stays, by analyzing the pieces of information embedded in de-identified health records," he said.
"Another area where AI can solve important problems is accessibility," he added.
During an earnings call in April, Pichai said that Google was ready for the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) to harmonise data privacy laws that would come into effect on May 25.
After four years of debate, the GDPR was finally approved by the EU Parliament on April 14, 2016. Organisations that fail to comply with the new regulation may face hefty fines.
In a blog, Google said it was informing advertisers and publisher partners about changes to its ad policies.
"Google already requires publishers and advertisers using our advertising services to get consent from end users to use our services, as required under existing EU law. However, the GDPR will further refine these requirements," the post added.
"To comply, we will be updating our EU consent policy when the GDPR takes effect and the revised policy will require that publishers take extra steps in obtaining consent from their users," it added.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
NDA's win in Bihar Assembly bypolls a matter of concern: Prashant Kishor
Patna, Nov 23: Political strategist turned activist Prashant Kishor on Saturday dubbed as "a matter of concern" the NDA's win in assembly by-polls in Bihar despite "failure" of the BJP-led coalition to end the state's chronic backwardness during it's decades-long rule.
Talking to reporters here shortly after the results were out, Kishor also drew succour from the fact that his fledgling Jan Suraaj won "10 per cent" of the total votes polled in four seats, but rubbished the claim that it had played a role in the RJD's defeat in three of these.
"RJD is a 30-year-old party. The son of its state president finished third. Can Jan Suraaj be faulted for that? In Belaganj all Muslim votes went to the JD(U) candidate. In Imamganj, the Jan Suraaj cut into NDA votes. Else, the victory margin of (Union minister) Jitan Manjhi's Hindustani Awam Morcha would have been bigger", asserted Kishor.
Notably, Imamganj, a reserved seat, was retained by Manjhi's daughter-in-law Deepa, who defeated the RJD candidate by a thin margin of less than 6,000 votes. Jan Suraaj candidate Jitendra Paswan finished third, polling more than 37,000 votes.
When pointed out that in three of the four seats, candidates of Jan Suraaj had polled less than one-sixth of the total votes and ran the risk of losing their deposits, Kishor shot back "That should not be a matter of concern (chinta ki baat). If there is a matter of concern, it is the ability of the NDA to make a clean sweep despite having ruled Bihar for so long and "failed" to end the state's backwardness".
The IPAC founder, who had a brief stint in the JD(U), insisted that the party's supremo Nitish Kumar, the Chief Minister of Bihar, was a "spent force" and its candidate, former MLC Manorama Devi, had won on her own steam.
"We have always said that our fight is with NDA, not with RJD despite its claim of being the largest party in Bihar.....(but) Nitish Kumar is no factor. His party polled just about 11 per cent of total votes", said Kishor.
About his own party's inability to make a mark, Kishor said "We have secured 10 per cent votes..... in seats where Jan Suraaj had no presence since these areas were yet to be covered by my padyatra. Also, please note that we got our poll symbol after filing of nomination papers was over".
He also maintained that the Jan Suraaj will go solo in the assembly polls due next year when it will contest "all 243 seats".
"We were initially written off but by garnering about 10 per cent votes, in a state known to vote along predictable caste lines, we have proved a point. In the next few months we shall be strengthening the organization to ensure that vote share of the Jan Suraaj improves", he said.
