AI regulation: Let tech play, regulate when there is abuse, says Google X Founder
At a time when ChatGPT and DeepSeek R1 reasoning models have started gaining prominence, AI experts and users are questioning its ethical use. But Sebastian Thrun, founder, Google X, says let technology play first. "Please regulate when there is abuse but not before that. Let the technology play out, observe if it's played out the way you like it and then do regulations to prohibit the misuses you're going to inevitably see. But don't regulate before the technology is even there," he said at Invest Karnataka 2025, being held in Bengaluru.
As for AI regulation, Sebastian Thrun said initially people were scared of the new technology and said it was dangerous, unethical and unfair. Some even signed a document saying that they should wait half a year to see how it would work out. But then a month ago, China came out with its latest AI version with a much different price point and that shook the world. “Now it is about competition and that is the right mindset,” he said.
However, he immediately pointed out that regulators are really important and they are part of us and they're there to minimise abuse. "Yes, there are abusers of AI... I'm not allowed to use AI for cybercriminal activities like deepfakes. It is something we should be very careful about but that doesn't make the entire technology illegal. We should really think about the opportunities," he said.
When it comes to AI, one of the main concerns is whether it will replace jobs? Google X founder says it will reshape the job market and that technology will complement human workers, and not replace them. He pointed out that AI can take over about 60-70% of today’s work, but many new jobs will emerge. "There are so many different new jobs that came along in this new world. The very first thing you're going to see is it will create more wealth and more capabilities and you're going to democratise skills," he said.
In the next 12 months, he sees a lot of AI in the workplace, diagnostics, consumer and transportation space. "I see massive impact in human health in diagnostics, good progress in transportation and on the consumer side, I see enormous personalisation of companies that really can guess what you really want- predictive shopping," he explained.
He is also excited about the enormous progress that is happening in the AI world including digital clones. “There are so many amazing small things like for example I would love to build a digital clone of myself. So, when you get really old, your grandchildren can talk to you long after you're gone or I could send my clone to the next Zoom meeting that I don't want to take and my digital twin would then take the meeting for me that's totally within reach now. This is going to happen in the next few years,” he said.