Google’s chief executive Sundar Pichai appeared at the White House on Thursday, days after a crucial court decision left most parts of his company intact after a trial that threatened to break up the search giant.
Mr Pichai appeared at first lady Melania Trump’s meeting of the White House Task Force on Artificial Intelligence for Education, which seeks to fix what some have described as a coming AI skills gap.
"It's an honour to be here and support the first lady's AI challenge," he said, referring to White House's endeavour announced in August that seeks to invite students and teachers to address societal challenges using AI.
Mr Pichai said Google is already committed to spend $1 billion to help prepare US students for AI and provide access to the technology. He said $150 million of that amount would go towards grants to support "AI education and digital well-being".
"AI is the most profound way we can deliver on our mission and transform learning," he said. "We envision a future where any student can learn anywhere in the world in whatever way works best for them."
Mr Pichai said Alphabet, parent company of Google, was grateful for US President Donald Trump and the first lady "showing us the way" with regard to AI.
Two days earlier, a judge largely avoided major regulatory enforcement against Google, allowing the company to keep control of its popular Chrome browser and Android operating system, from which the federal government initially sought to force it to divest.
The judge did, however, decide that Google must share data with rivals to open up competition in online search, although many legal analysts consider that to be a slap on the wrist for a company that had already been determined to have abused its powers.
"We have concerns about how these requirements will impact our users and their privacy, and we’re reviewing the decision closely," Google said in response to Tuesday's decision.
Mr Pichai did not bring up the litigation during his visit to the White House on Thursday.
IBM chief executive Arvind Krishna also attended the meeting and spoke about the company's plans to support US efforts to make sure students could stay ahead of the AI curve.
Mr Krishna made international headlines in 2023 as AI excitement and investments started to pick up significant momentum when he said that IBM might pause hiring and eliminate up to 7,800 jobs because of AI and automation.
The AI meeting hosted by Ms Trump comes months after her husband, President Donald Trump, unveiled a three-pillared strategy that his administration referred to as America's AI Action Plan.
Accelerating artificial intelligence innovation, building AI infrastructure in the US and leading in AI diplomacy were main components of the plan
The AI plan seeks to streamline the construction permit process for data centres, which are becoming critical to breakthroughs in the technology.
But it also directed the National Institute of Standards and Technology to “revise the AI management framework, eliminating references to diversity, equity and inclusion, misinformation and climate change”.
It is not the first time Ms Trump has sought to influence technology policy. She was a major proponent of the Take It Down Act, which aims to provide legal protection for people whose intimate images – including deepfake AI-generated content – have been posted online without their consent.
Later on Thursday, other technology executives including Apple's Tim Cook and OpenAI's Sam Altman are expected to appear at the White House for an event in the Rose Garden.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Karwaan
Producer: Ronnie Screwvala
Director: Akarsh Khurana
Starring: Irrfan Khan, Dulquer Salmaan, Mithila Palkar
Rating: 4/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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