At a recent discussion at The New York Times’ Dealbook summit, Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai shared his thoughts on the future of artificial intelligence (AI) development, acknowledging that progress in the field may face challenges in the near future. While he does not believe AI has hit a “wall,” Pichai predicts that AI advancements will slow down in the months ahead.
Google CEO: Slow progress in AI development in 2025
Pichai emphasized that AI progress, although not stalling, is facing more hurdles as the industry pushes forward. “I think the progress is going to get harder when I look at 2025,” Pichai remarked, noting that much of the “low-hanging fruit” of AI development has already been harvested. He also highlighted that the next steps in AI innovation will require deeper technical breakthroughs. “The hill is steeper,” he added.
Despite the slowdown, Pichai was clear in his stance that AI has not hit a “wall.” Some in the industry, including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, have disputed the notion of a performance plateau. However, the Google CEO acknowledged that, as AI scales, the breakthroughs needed will be more difficult to achieve. The next phase, he noted, will demand advancements in reasoning and more reliable action sequences.
Google’s role in AI development: competing and innovating
The conversation also included Pichai’s thoughts on Google’s position in the evolving AI landscape. Referring to Microsoft’s use of OpenAI’s models, Pichai suggested that Google’s AI models remain more advanced, challenging Microsoft’s approach. “I would love to do a side-by-side comparison of Microsoft’s own models and our models any day, any time,” Pichai said.
He argued that incremental improvements in AI, like those in Google’s Gemini and other language models, will continue, but the technology still needs substantial breakthroughs to achieve true revolution. Pichai’s comments come amid a growing debate on whether the hype surrounding AI is justified or if the technology has already reached a performance ceiling.
The Google CEO also warned that AI, while showing promise, has not yet reached the stage where it generates profits for corporate users. Despite the billions being invested in the sector, AI’s full potential remains unrealized.