Google’s CEO, Sundar Pichai, said that AI is now used to write more than a quarter of new codes at Google. This revelation highlights the tech giant’s quick shift to the use of artificial intelligence in not only search and productivity tools but also in the development processes. According to Pichai, the use of AI in generating code goes through engineer reviews, which enhances the speed of developing cycles at Google and increases efficiency.
He also pointed out that Google is even better placed for this new age of artificial intelligence as the only company with a full-stack approach to AI innovation with some of the most powerful data centres, its own AI chips, and a vast global fibre network. Pichai has said that this AI-led model is already paying off, as Google saw $26.3 billion in increased earnings in the quarter alone.
“Winter is Coming for Computer Science”: Developers Voice Concerns
The reaction of the tech community to the announcement made by Pichai was immediate and quite sharp. As Google’s top management presents AI as a tool that creates more jobs, some developers and industry insiders expressed concern over its impact on employment. On social media, several users noted perceived problems with Google’s AI-driven algorithms, with one user stating, “Explains the garbage search results,” while others suggested that the automation of coding might already be more advanced than has been reported. The interviewees’ apprehensions about the future of the profession can be summed up with a quote from one of the developers: “Winter is coming for computer science.”
Potential Consequences of AI on Employment
This development is in line with a statement Pichai made in an interview sometime ago where he pointed out that artificial intelligence might lead to job losses in software development, accounting, and even architecture, to mention but a few. It is also important to recognise that as AI becomes more sophisticated, a variety of technical and knowledge-intensive positions may become impacted or even disappear. Pichai has in the past referred to AI as an innovation like electricity or fire and has said the technology can help solve some of the world’s biggest problems, in this case, education. But he has also understood, along with other tech leaders, the importance of the proper use of AI because of its potential to fire employees.
While AI is slowly changing the very DNA of Google, Pichai’s words have sparked newfound enthusiasm for what is being created as well as new doubts about what is being built. As spearheaded by Google, the impacts on other fields of employment for software developers and the technology industry in general will be keenly observed.
