Latest News by Industry
· Google’sPichai calls for government action to police cyberattacks more actively andencourage innovation
· SundarPichai said its the time to draft international legal standards for technology,an equivalent of a Geneva Convention
Google and its parent company Alphabet Inc’s Chief Executive SundarPichai said that the U.S. government should police cybersecurity breaches more activelyand encourage innovation with policies and investments in the wake of a series ofcyberattacks on U.S. companies which the Biden administration attributed toChinese and Russian hackers.
“Governments on a multilateral basis…need to put it up higheron the agenda,” Pichai said in The Wall Street Journal’s Tech Live conference.“If not, you’re going to see more of it because countries would resort to thosethings.”
Pichai said that the time had come to draft internationallegal standards for technology, an equivalent of a Geneva Convention.
The CEO of the tech giant also appealed to the U.S.government to take an active role in encouraging innovation and compete againstChina, where the Communist Party has already outlined a plan to advance thecountry’s artificial-intelligence capabilities and develop its semiconductorsector.
Google’s plan to compete China
Google, which doesn’t operate in China, is investing inquantum computing and artificial intelligence to stay ahead of Chinese internetcompanies to provide services in markets around the world, including SoutheastAsia, Pichai said.
“We can take a long-term view and do [that], particularly ata time when governments have slightly pulled back on basic [research anddevelopment] funding,” Pichai said, adding that government could supportGoogle’s efforts.
He asked the Biden administration to stay ahead by adoptingpolicies such as providing work visas to talented engineers and scientists fromoverseas.
The Biden administration has already pressed Congress toaddress that issue by funding bipartisan legislation known as the Chips forAmerica Act, designed to encourage domestic semiconductor investment.
If the legislation is passed, it can provide incentives andgive more control to the U.S. over the semiconductor supply chain, which is dependentmainly on Taiwan-based factories managed by Taiwan Semiconductor ManufacturingCo (TSMC).
“Public-private partnerships here can be a good template,”Pichai said. “This is an area [where], you know, there’s bipartisan interest inmaking sure that we are thinking about it for the long term.”
Limited common ground for government and tech industry
As competition with China is escalating, cyberattacks are intensifying,and lawmakers express concerns about misinformation and censorship on social mediaplatforms, tech leaders are encouraging Washington to get more involved in the industryand calling for government action.
There are limits to the potential common ground with the government,particularly regarding rising antitrust scrutiny of tech companies by lawmakersand regulators.
Currently, Google is fighting an antitrust lawsuit brought bythe Justice Department alleging it uses anticompetitive practices to preserve amonopoly for its search engine and advertising business.
Picture Credit: India Today