Google CEO claims the probability of AI causing existential doom is “pretty high” — but he’s banking on humanity to rally against the imminent catastrophe

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Over recent years, AI technology that generates content has exploded in popularity across the tech industry. Major companies have invested vast amounts into this rapidly changing sector, aiming to keep pace with pioneers like OpenAI in a fiercely competitive AI market.

Despite its potential for advancement, there are various obstacles that appear to be hindering its progress, such as privacy and security issues raised by skeptics. What’s more troubling is that numerous reports indicate a near certainty (99.999999%) that this technology might pose an existential threat to humanity.

According to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, we won’t encounter the significant AI risks at the point of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI). Instead, he predicts that AGI will be reached and surpassed in just about five years, with a relatively small societal impact compared to what might be expected.

Contrarily, it appears that Sundar Pichai, Google’s CEO, holds differing views. During his conversation with Lex Fridman on a recent podcast, he expressed opinions contrary to what was suggested through Axios.

“I’m optimistic on the p(doom) scenarios, but … the underlying risk is actually pretty high.”

On a more captivating note, the executive suggests that humans might unite in time to thwart the disaster before it occurs. Contrarily, tech visionary Sam Altman has hinted that advanced technology could potentially save itself from becoming a threat to mankind.

This is quite a bold statement, with the world seemingly being split about the development of AI.

In other words, Daniel Kokotajlo, a previous researcher at OpenAI, has disclosed that Elon Musk, Sam Altman, and Ilya Sutskever established OpenAI as a balancing force to prevent Demis Hassabis, the CEO of DeepMind, from becoming a dictator in the field of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI).

The executive asserted that Hassabis intended to make full use of Google’s extensive assets to cross the AI finish line ahead of others, and subsequently address any security vulnerabilities and risks.

Notably, DeepMind’s CEO has expressed his belief that Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) may soon become a reality. However, he also emphasized that our society might not yet be equipped to handle all the implications that this significant milestone could bring. He admitted that these possibilities often keep him awake at night.

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2025-06-27 00:39