Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Friday, Aug 22, 2025

Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt warns against overregulation of AI

Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt urged cooperation with Chinese scientists, warned against the threat of misinformation, and advised against overregulation by governments today in a broad-ranging speech about AI ethics and regulation of big tech companies. He also talked about conflict deterrence between nation-states in the age of AI and pondered how secretaries of state might share information in the coming age of artificial general intelligence (AGI).

“What are the norms of this? This area strikes me as one that’s nascent but will become very important as general intelligence becomes more and more possible some time from now,” he said. “We haven’t had a common regime around how all that works.”

In a speech at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution today, he praised progress made in the field of AI in areas like autonomous driving and medicine, federated learning for privacy-preserving on-device machine learning, and eye scans for detection of cardiovascular issues. A combination of generative adversarial networks and reinforcement learning will lead to major advances in science in the years ahead.

He also urged government restraint in regulation of technology as the AI industry continues to grow.

“I would be careful of building any form of additional regulatory structure that’s extralegal,” Schmidt said in response when a member of the audience proposed the creation of a new federal agency to critique algorithms used by private companies.

Schmidt shared the stage with Marietje Schaake, a Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (HAI) fellow and Dutch former member of European Parliament who played a role in passage of GDPR regulation. She counterpointed that companies that say regulation may stifle innovation often assume technology is more important than democracy and the rule of law.

A hands-off approach on tech regulation has led to the creation of new monopolies, thrown journalism into turmoil, and allowed the balkanization of the internet, she said. Failure to act now, she added, could allow for AI to accelerate and amplify discrimination. She suggested systematic impact assessments to operate in parallel with AI research so that our understanding of negative impacts can mirror progress.

“I think it’s very clear that tech companies can all stay on the fence in taking a position in relation to values and rights. I personally believe that a rules-based system serves the public interest as well as collective rights and liberties the companies benefit from,” she said. “I see clear momentum now between the EU and U.S. and a significant part of the democratic world, where [we] can catch up to the civil regulatory gaps platforms and other digital services … anticipating the broader use of artificial intelligence.”

She also argued that big tech self-regulation efforts have failed and emphasized the need for empowering regulators in order to defend democracy.

“Because with great power should come great responsibility, or at least modesty,” she said. “Everyone has a role to play to strengthen the resilience of our democracy.”

Schaake and Schmidt spoke for more than an hour this morning at a symposium held by the Stanford University Institute for Human-Centered AI about AI ethics, policy, and governance.

The debate between the two comes at a time when regulators in the United States have increased scrutiny of tech giants. Companies like Google currently face antitrust investigations from state attorneys general, and Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren has made the breakup of tech giants a central part of her campaign.

Last month, due to Schmidt’s potential role in issues ranging from Google’s project to enter mainland China to its work with the Department of Defense to its payout to Andy Rubin of $90 million despite sexual harassment allegations, a number of AI ethicists asked HAI to rescind its invitation to this event. Written by Tech Inquiry founder Jack Poulson, signatories include roughly 50 people, about a dozen of whom currently work as engineers at Google.

In response to the petition, HAI published a tweet warning against the dangers of “damaging intellectual blindness.”

Pentagon’s Defense Innovation Board AI ethics recommendations and the report from the national security commission on AI - two committees that Schmidt oversees - are due out October 31 and November 5, respectively.

Both initiatives are aimed at helping the United States create a national AI strategy as roughly 30 other nations around have done, he said. Last week, founders of the Stanford center called for $120 billion in government spending over the course of the next decade as part of a national strategy.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Trump Backs Putin’s Land-for-Peace Proposal Amid Kyiv’s Rejection
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
United States Sells Luxury Yacht Amadea, Valued at Approximately $325 Million, in First Sale of a Seized Russian Yacht Since the Invasion of Ukraine
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
Australia to Recognize the State of Palestine at UN Assembly
The Collapse of the Programmer Dream: AI Experts Now the Real High-Earners
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Germany’s Economic Breakdown and the Return of Militarization: From Industrial Collapse to a New Offensive Strategy
Germany Enters Fiscal Crisis as Cabinet Approves €174 Billion in New Debt
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Russia Formally Recognizes Taliban Government in Afghanistan
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Mediators Edge Closer to Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Agreement
Germany Seeks Taliban Deal to Deport Afghan Migrants
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Robots Compete in Football Tournament in China Amid Injuries
×