Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai has unveiled a $120 million “Global AI Opportunity Fund” at the UN’s “Summit of the Future” during the 79th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York. The fund is aimed at making AI education and training accessible worldwide, with a focus on local languages in collaboration with nonprofits and NGOs.
In his speech, Pichai reflected on his upbringing in Chennai, India, noting how new technologies consistently improved his family’s life. He highlighted the impact of computers on his own journey, recalling his first exposure to a lab full of machines during his graduate studies in the US, which ultimately inspired his career in technology.
Today, 15 Google products serve over half a billion people and businesses each, with six of them, including Search, Maps, and Drive, reaching more than 2 billion users.
Pichai emphasized Google’s long-standing commitment to AI, with over 20 years of investment in AI research, tools, and infrastructure. As a result, Google Translate added 110 new languages in the past year, now supporting 246 languages spoken by half a billion people, with a goal to cover 1,000 of the world’s most spoken languages.
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AI’s potential to drive global growth was also noted, with studies suggesting AI could increase global labor productivity by 1.4 percentage points and boost global GDP by 7% within the next decade. In emerging markets, AI is already helping improve operations and logistics, addressing issues such as connectivity, infrastructure, and traffic congestion.
Pichai stressed the importance of responsible AI development and deployment, guided by Google’s AI Principles established in 2018. The company collaborates with industry, academia, the UN, and governments in initiatives like the Frontier Model Forum, the OECD, and the G7 Hiroshima Process to ensure ethical AI usage.
