The head of Google’s parent company, Alphabet, has warned that no company will escape the fallout if the rapidly expanding artificial intelligence sector experiences a major collapse.
In an interview with the BBC, Sundar Pichai acknowledged that “irrationality” has fuelled the surge in AI investment, which has driven a significant technology market rally this year. But with growing fears that the AI boom may be unsustainable, global stock markets have seen sharp declines in recent months.
Asked whether Google itself could be affected if the AI bubble bursts, Pichai responded: “I think no company is going to be immune, including us.”
The interview tackled long-standing concerns around artificial intelligence, including accuracy, job displacement, rising energy demands and the impact on climate commitments. Pichai stressed the “immense” energy consumption required to power AI systems, noting that AI accounted for 1.5 percent of global electricity use last year, according to the International Energy Agency.
He warned that computing demands could climb to 200 gigawatts by 2030, the equivalent of Brazil’s annual electricity consumption, with about half of that usage expected in the United States. Massive geopolitical competition to build large-scale data centres has intensified these pressures, with facilities requiring huge numbers of chips and extensive cooling resources.
Pichai said urgent action is needed to develop new energy sources and reinforce global infrastructure. He admitted that Alphabet’s climate goals will be pushed back because of AI’s energy requirements but insisted the company still aims to reach carbon neutrality by 2030.
He also predicted that AI would significantly reshape the global workforce. The technology would create “societal disruptions,” he said, potentially affecting even top executive roles. However, he argued that people who adapt to using AI tools “will do better,” regardless of their profession.
Alphabet reported quarterly revenue exceeding $100 billion in October, driven in part by its ability to capitalise on the accelerating demand for AI. The company has also expanded its investment in AI infrastructure and accelerated the global rollout of AI-driven features across Google Search and its Gemini model suite.
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