Sundar Pichai of Google: 'Technology Doesn't Solve Humanity's Problems' (nytimes.com) 137
In a wide-ranging interview with The New York Times, Google CEO Sundar Pichai has addressed some of the recent tensions within the company and those that the entire industry appears to be grappling with. From the story: Question: An estimated 20,000 Googlers participated in a sexual harassment protest this month. What's your message to employees right now?
Pichai: People are walking out because they want us to improve and they want us to show we can do better. We're acknowledging and understanding we clearly got some things wrong. And we have been running the company very differently for a while now. But going through a process like that, you learn a lot. For example, we have established channels by which people can report issues. But those processes are much harder on the people going through it than we had realized.
Question: Do you worry that Silicon Valley is suffering from groupthink and losing its edge?
Pichai: There is nothing inherent that says Silicon Valley will always be the most innovative place in the world. There is no God-given right to be that way. But I feel confident that right now, as we speak, there are quietly people in the Valley working on some stuff which we will later look back on in 10 years and feel was very profound. We feel we're on the cusp of technologies, just like the internet before.
Question: Do you still feel like Silicon Valley has retained that idealism that struck you when you arrived here?
Pichai: There's still that optimism. But the optimism is tempered by a sense of deliberation. Things have changed quite a bit. You know, we deliberate about things a lot more, and we are more thoughtful about what we do. But there's a deeper thing here, which is: Technology doesn't solve humanity's problems. It was always naive to think so. Technology is an enabler, but humanity has to deal with humanity's problems. I think we're both over-reliant on technology as a way to solve things and probably, at this moment, over-indexing on technology as a source of all problems, too. Further reading: After Paying Off Men Accused of Sexual Harassment, Google Says It Will Meet Many of the Protesters' Demands.
Pichai: People are walking out because they want us to improve and they want us to show we can do better. We're acknowledging and understanding we clearly got some things wrong. And we have been running the company very differently for a while now. But going through a process like that, you learn a lot. For example, we have established channels by which people can report issues. But those processes are much harder on the people going through it than we had realized.
Question: Do you worry that Silicon Valley is suffering from groupthink and losing its edge?
Pichai: There is nothing inherent that says Silicon Valley will always be the most innovative place in the world. There is no God-given right to be that way. But I feel confident that right now, as we speak, there are quietly people in the Valley working on some stuff which we will later look back on in 10 years and feel was very profound. We feel we're on the cusp of technologies, just like the internet before.
Question: Do you still feel like Silicon Valley has retained that idealism that struck you when you arrived here?
Pichai: There's still that optimism. But the optimism is tempered by a sense of deliberation. Things have changed quite a bit. You know, we deliberate about things a lot more, and we are more thoughtful about what we do. But there's a deeper thing here, which is: Technology doesn't solve humanity's problems. It was always naive to think so. Technology is an enabler, but humanity has to deal with humanity's problems. I think we're both over-reliant on technology as a way to solve things and probably, at this moment, over-indexing on technology as a source of all problems, too. Further reading: After Paying Off Men Accused of Sexual Harassment, Google Says It Will Meet Many of the Protesters' Demands.
Huh? (Score:4, Interesting)
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It's a fundamental understanding of technology.
You use a rock to crush up bits of sticks so they're easier to ignite as tinder. One day, you realize that striking in a different manner better separates the fibers, allowing you to produce 50% more tinder in the same time with the same tools.
That's technology. You've just invented a new, more-efficient method of manufacturing tinder from sticks using the same tools. You can make the same tinder with less labor and apply other labor to do other things li
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And no Polio
Malaria is disappearing and is almost completely gone.
The internet was a great idea before marketers found it
A lot more food available for the world.
Electricity.
Having a really good chance of living thru childhood and having your children doing the same.
MEDICINE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
A lot less violence as a whole
Slavery is almost not a thing.
No more small pox
This: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]
Seems worth a bunch of weirdos
You can have your shitty backwards world.
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I'm curious, what is it about multiple "genders and sexual orientations" that you find to be comparable to world wars? Is it that they confuse you, or is there some way that someone else's preferences or gender harms you? Is it a religious thing where you believe homosexuality or transexuality is causing God's wrath upon mankind?
I honestly want to know.
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I think they're just trying to point out that things are simpler when there are 2 sexes, regarding laws and organizing things in general.
Which is an silly thing to believe. Technology didn't cause transgender people to exist. Humanity existed for millenia without laws to require people to use a particular toilet, and there is no reason we need such laws now.
In the same way that things are simpler when there are no wars.
Wars are far, far LESS common that they were in the past. Why? Answer: Technology. A century ago, millions of soldiers were 97 days into the hundred days offensive [wikipedia.org] (it ended at 11am on Nov 11th) in one of the dumbest and most pointless wars ever fought. It started because of gross m
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1) Did you know that there were more than 2 genders as long as 4000 years ago? Middle Egyptian actually has words to describe them and in the 18th Egyptian dynasty, the pharaoh Hatshepsut was transgender? So, my question is when were there only "2 sexes"?
2)When have their been no wars?
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Did you know that there were more than 2 genders as long as 4000 years ago?
*Citation needed*
So, my question is when were there only "2 sexes"?
Right now.
When have their been no wars?
Never. It's sad.
Re: Huh? (Score:4, Interesting)
I would think by now you guys would know better than to challenge me.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]
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Scientifically, we are a binary sex species. The abnormalities of XXY, XXX, XYY Chromosomes are similar to having other Chromosome deformations like Downs Syndrome. That is to say, they are no less HUMAN, but they are exceptions, not the rule (binary sex).
There are even rare cases of Hermaphroditism, where there appears (or actually are) two sets of genitalia. These are also rare cases, similar to people born with six fingers/toes. It does happen. We say we have ten fingers and toes, because MOST people con
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Maybe it's partly due to individualism reaching such retarded proportions that we've reached "i want to play dress up and you must play along, else you're a bigot"
Or that moral relativism permeating society is akin to water seeping into the foundation of a building. Over time it eventually brings the entire thing crashing down.
Hard to say.
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Have there been transgender people demanding that you "play along"? Please elaborate.
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What are preferred pronouns?
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This isn't Jeopardy. What are you trying to say? Have there been transgender people demanding that you "play along"? Give us examples of this happening to you. Use your words.
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You must not live in the south west.
Re: Huh? (Score:2)
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Technology ("science of craft", from Greek , techne, "art, skill, cunning of hand"; and -, -logia) is the collection of techniques, skills, methods, and processes used in the production of goods or services or in the accomplishment of objectives, such as scientific investigation.
In economics, we call the advancement of technology (and its measurable effects on productivity) "technical progress".
An assembly line is technology. So is cellular manufacture. These are techniques, not tools--although a too
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+1 million insightful
But you will be modded down because "people have the right to have children" and other idiots who think about themselves before looking at the overall picture. This is why we're doomed as a species: overpopulation, famine, war. In that order.
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The 1970s wants its alarmism back.
The rates of famine and war have decreased exponentially (literally exponentially) over the last 500 years or so. The population is currently fairly high, but the rate of increase is tapering off and all reasonable forecasts predict topping out then a decrease. The first world is already in the decrease phase.
Famine is caused by unreliable food production or distribution. War is caused by economic forces. Educating females (by having a high enough standard of living that le
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Yup, there's always more catastrophe that technology can save us from.
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I think my original post was caused by a lack of technology called morning coffee.
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I'm trying not to be!
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Re: Huh? (Score:3)
Re: Huh? (Score:2)
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Technology can solve all problems, including the existence of humans... Reference: The Matrix, Terminator...
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They don't really grasp the concept of "technology" outside of computer crap.
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He's using a very narrow definition of technology - the computer and information technology. Most of the rest of us understand technology in the broad sense that covers all the aspects of the process that transforms matter, energy and information.
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We get to run off the cliff faster and in more comfort.
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You already have that. It's called "speech", as in, "open your mouth and say what you want". Or, if the cat has your tongue, you can write it down on a sheet of paper and pass it along.
Can you give an example of something you wish to say but are being "censored or blocked" from saying?
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You still haven't answered my main question:
Can you give an example of something you wish to say but are being "censored or blocked" from saying?
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Go to Germany and say "the holocost never happened".
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You seem to be purposely misunderstanding my question. Here it is again:
Can you give an example of something you wish to say but are being "censored or blocked" from saying?
Are you saying that you wish to say, "the holocaust never happened" but are being "censored and blocked" from saying it?
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Yes you are put in jail. That is censoring.
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Being able to say something is not the same as having a mass media platform to say something. The first is guaranteed, the second is not.
Re:What. The. Fuck?!?! (Score:5, Insightful)
Seriously? This guy runs Google?
How many people does he think could survive on Earth without technology?
Keeping literally billions of people from dying sure seems like "solving problems".
I think the whole point is that technology is not a panacea. It helps solve problems, but deep down a lot of problems like hunger or poverty have underlying causes beyond the remedy of technology. A lot of it is simply getting past the human element: greed, corruption, stubbornness, mistrust, etc. Then you have natural causes such as simple physics, ecology, geography, etc that technology can mitigate but not effectively or realistically fully overcome. A lot of people in Silicon Valley (and tech in general) have grand ideas about changing or saving the world, and those dreams just simply aren't realistic or feasible. Limited or localized change and improvement is certainly possible and is a laudable achievement, but expectations must be realistic. And in quite a few instances, but trying to solve problems you end up only creating more.
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So on the one hand you are right - hunger and poverty have human causes. But, technology could conceivably fix them. For example some hunger is basically because certain dictators / warlords / etc. take the food and also steal the relief shipments other groups send in. A drone that killed off that person would likely solve that. Of course you would eventually get Skynet. But for a short time it would be solved.
That's not solving the problem. As recent events in ME/NA show, forcibly removing a strong-arm ruler often just causes more problems as the state descends into chaos and anarchy at worst, civil war at best. So instead of a state (relatively) peacefully starving, you have a state starving and at war with itself.
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So on the one hand you are right - hunger and poverty have human causes.
Hunger and poverty are the natural state of life. They aren't caused by humanity, they are solved by humanity — except during disasters or when someone gets in the way.
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Is Jesus.
No, I'm sure quite a few companies in Silicon Valley have Jesus. He and his friends clean the floors or take care of the landscaping.
Technology can solve Google harassment (Score:2)
He's right (Score:2)
Can't solve a problem which isn't defined (Score:1)
"Technology doesn’t solve humanity’s problems. It was always naïve to think so. Technology is an enabler, but humanity has to deal with humanity’s problems. I think we’re both over-reliant on technology as a way to solve things and probably, at this moment, over-indexing on technology as a source of all problems, too."
Of course a vague term like "humanity's problems" can't be solved by technology, because we don't know what you're trying to solve. I'm more concerned with resourc
He's trapped in a bubble (Score:5, Insightful)
Bio tech changes everything. People don't realize how much we've changed farming in the last 100 years. We use oil byproducts to recondition land so that we need fewer or no crop rotation cycles. We used genetic modification to massively increase yields and make pest resistant crops. We can feed everyone on the plant now.
Yeah, tech moved faster than our society at fixing problems, but our society wouldn't even get a chance to fix them without tech.
Just the other day... (Score:2)
...on twitter I saw some post about how those retailer not getting involved with AI will be their demise. Reminded me that the tech industry, as Bill Gates indirectly said in saying its not like other markets. Obviously it is an entrapment market. Many of the readers here are familiar with the upgrade trap of wanting to upgrade one thing only to find they have to upgrade other things to do so. And sometime my system response experience is worse than what I recall of a Commodore 64, so where did all the upg
Idealism? No. (Score:3, Insightful)
- Grievance-obsession is not idealism.
- Making up stories about bad things that might happen is not idealism.
- Beefing about people or condescending to people or looking down on people in other states who aren't like you is not idealism.
- Bigotry against religion is not idealism.
- Name-calling is not idealism.
- Self-obsession is not idealism.
- Wanting to spend money other people earned is not idealism.
- Choosing to side with one group over another group is not idealism.
- Rejection of science in favor of storytelling about diversity is not idealism.
Idealism rejects all of these things. Idealism tells the truth and treats everyone with goodwill. You guys at Google should try it.
Social problems are not humanity problems. (Score:2)
Not all, not yet. (Score:5, Insightful)
But there's a deeper thing here, which is: Technology doesn't solve humanity's problems. It was always naive to think so. Technology is an enabler, but humanity has to deal with humanity's problems. I think we're both over-reliant on technology as a way to solve things and probably, at this moment, over-indexing on technology as a source of all problems, too.
It won't solve all our problems. But we've made the blind see, the lame walk, fed the world, cured a lot of cancer, fought off a lot of diseases, empowered billions, and unless we have some sort of additional advances things look pretty damn grim when it comes to global warming.
You are working on self-driving cars. "1.3 million people die in road crashes each year. An additional 20-50 million are injured or disabled". This is a problem. You are working on solving it. That justifies the investment, all the work, and your fucking stock price.
You want non-discriminatory hiring practices that truly adhere to being an equal opportunity employer? Automate it. Remove discriminatory factors and strive for a meritocracy that's blind to race, religion, or creed. If the process for raising complaints is painful, fix it. Streamlining and automating HR sounds like something you could sell.
You are a technology company. Act like it.
Technology doesn't solve ALL of humanity's problems. Yet.
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You want non-discriminatory hiring practices that truly adhere to being an equal opportunity employer? Automate it. Remove discriminatory factors and strive for a meritocracy that's blind to race, religion, or creed...
In Tech you'd wind up with a 40-30-30 mix of white, asian, and desi males between 25 and 45.
They aren't bleating about a meritocracy or equality in opportunity; it's equality of outcome or nothing.
Technology evolves faster than humans (Score:3)
Self-fulfilling (Score:3)
Technology doesn't solve humanity's problems
It does, technology has solved many of the world's biggest problems. However, once it solves a problem then there is no longer a problem, so it doesn't appear that technology has done anything.
But take mass transportation as an example. The inability to move millions of people and millions of tons of goods never seemed like a problem before it was possible. Nobody ever thought "Hmmmm, I wish there was a way to get 50 million people a year to visit other countries" or "I wonder how we could possibly move a quarter of a million tons of crude oil across the world?" . Not until the means to do so was delivered. Then after that, the problem disappeared.
So it is a rather dumb statement. Just like we don't have a "problem" now on how to get 10,000 people a year to The Moon and back. It will become possible - and then easy - to do. And once it does, that will be because technology enabled the solution. But right now, no-one considers our inability to do that to be a "problem".
Google is Doomed. (Score:3)
Once you have let that Genie out of the bottle, the is no turning back.
I am confused. (Score:1)
Anime on the brain: (Score:2)
Whenever I see the name Sundar Pichai, my mind changes it to Tsundere Pikachu.