By David Gelles
Google is facing to a greater extent than challenges today than at whatsoever fourth dimension inwards its 20-year history. Employees are outraged over sexual harassment. Executives are nether scrutiny for an endeavor to secretly brand a censored version of its search product for China. Google volition nigh downward its social network adjacent twelvemonth after a security vulnerability was discovered. Political too social debates, including 1 over edifice military-grade artificial intelligence, are roiling the move force.
Yet the human being responsible for leading Google through this minefield is non 1 of the company’s founders — Larry Page too Sergey Brin — or fifty-fifty Eric Schmidt, the company’s quondam main executive too chairman, who was ushered aside lastly year. Instead, the human being inwards accuse of arguably the most influential society inwards the earth is Sundar Pichai, a soft-spoken engineer who grew upward inwards Chennai, India.
Mr. Pichai was a voracious reader equally a boy, too attended the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology, too thence Stanford too the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, where he received advanced degrees. After stints at Applied Materials too McKinsey, he joined Google inwards 2004.
A collection of “Corner Office” columns past times David Gelles that offers highlights from conversations amongst executives well-nigh leadership too management.Hide
Mr. Pichai helped educate the company’s browser, Chrome, too inwards 2014 he took over product, engineering scientific discipline too inquiry efforts for the company’s products too platforms, including search, ads too Android. He was made main executive inwards 2015, too joined the board of Alphabet, Google’s parent, lastly year.
This interview, which was condensed too edited for clarity, was conducted inwards New York.
Tell me well-nigh growing upward inwards Chennai.
There was a simplicity to my life, which was real prissy compared amongst today’s world. We lived inwards a sort of pocket-size house, shared amongst tenants. We would slumber on the living room floor. There was a drought when I was growing up, too nosotros had anxiety. Even now, I tin never slumber without a bottle of H2O beside my bed. Other houses had refrigerators, too and thence nosotros finally got one. It was a large deal.
But I had a lot of fourth dimension to read. I was processing a lot. I read whatever I could acquire my hands on. I read Dickens. Friends, playing street cricket, reading books — that was sort of the totality of life. But you lot never felt lacking for anything.
What was it similar coming over to attend Stanford?
It was the offset fourth dimension I had ever been on a plane. I e'er wanted to live inwards the Valley. I sort of knew that’s where everything happened. I recollect landing inwards California, too I stayed amongst a host household unit of measurement for well-nigh a week. I was inwards the machine going from the airport, too was like, “Wow, it’s thence brownish here.” The household unit of measurement was like, “We similar to telephone telephone it golden.”
When I was dorsum at I.I.T., I had access to the figurer thence rarely — peradventure I’d been on it iii or 4 times. To come upward too only take away maintain these labs inwards which you lot had access to computers too you lot could program, it was a large bargain to me. I was thence wrapped upward inwards that, that to roughly extent I didn’t sympathise at that topographic point was a much bigger shift happening amongst the internet.
You started at Google fourteen years ago. Does it nevertheless experience similar the same society you lot joined?
When I offset joined Google I was struck past times the fact that it was a real idealistic, optimistic place. I nevertheless run across that idealism too optimism a lot inwards many things nosotros produce today. But the earth is different. Maybe there’s to a greater extent than realism of how difficult roughly things are. We’ve had to a greater extent than failures, too. But there’s e'er been a potent streak of idealism inwards the company, too you lot nevertheless run across it today.
What’s your approach to engineering too hide fourth dimension amongst your family?
When I come upward dwelling on a Fri evening, I really produce desire to allow become of my devices for a distich days. I haven’t quite succeeded inwards doing that. At home, our idiot box is non easily accessible, thence that at that topographic point is “activation energy” earlier you lot tin easily become sentry TV. I’m truly conflicted, because I run across what my kids larn from all this. My boy is eleven years old, too he is mining Ethereum too earning money. He’s getting roughly insight into how the earth works, how commerce works.
Every generation is worried well-nigh the novel technology, too feels similar this fourth dimension it’s different. Our parents worried well-nigh Elvis Presley’s influence on kids. So, I’m e'er shout out for the question, “Why would it live whatsoever dissimilar this time?” Having said that, I produce realize the alter that’s happening right away is much faster than ever before. My boy nevertheless doesn’t take away maintain a phone.
Why does it appear thence tardily for tech companies similar Google to ban pornography too graphic violence from social media platforms, but thence much harder for them to rootage out propaganda, misinformation too disturbing content aimed at kids?
There are areas where gild clearly agrees what is O.K. too non O.K., too and thence at that topographic point are areas where it is difficult equally a gild to describe the line. What is the deviation betwixt liberty of vocalism communication on something where you lot experience you’re existence discriminated against past times roughly other group, versus abhor speech? The United States of America too Europe describe the describe differently on this enquiry inwards a real key way. We’ve had to defend videos which nosotros allow inwards the United States of America but inwards Europe people persuasion equally disseminating abhor speech.
Should people live able to tell that they don’t believe climate alter is real? Or that vaccines don’t work? It’s only a truly difficult problem. We’re all using human reviewers, but human reviewers brand mistakes, too.
How produce you lot approach this inwards China, where Google is considering returning to the marketplace amongst a search engine?
One of the things that’s non good understood, I think, is that nosotros operate inwards many countries where at that topographic point is censorship. When nosotros follow “right to live forgotten” laws, nosotros are censoring search results because we’re complying amongst the law. I’m committed to serving users inwards China. Whatever course of study it takes, I really don’t know the answer. It’s non fifty-fifty clear to me that search inwards Communist People's Republic of China is the production nosotros demand to produce today.
“When people say, ‘Wow, there’s a lot of challenges,’ I e'er say, ‘There’s no amend fourth dimension to live alive.’” — Sundar Pichai
An estimated 20,000 Googlers participated inwards a sexual harassment protest this month. What’s your message to employees correct now?
People are walking out because they desire us to improve too they desire us to demo nosotros tin produce better. We’re acknowledging too agreement nosotros clearly got roughly things wrong. And nosotros take away maintain been running the society real differently for a spell now. But going through a procedure similar that, you lot larn a lot. For example, nosotros take away maintain established channels past times which people tin written report issues. But those processes are much harder on the people going through it than nosotros had realized.
Is at that topographic point a morale occupation at the company?
There’s a lot of challenges inwards the world, too given what Google does, nosotros experience similar nosotros are on the cutting border of many of these issues. But when people say, “Wow, there’s a lot of challenges,” I e'er say, “There’s no amend fourth dimension to live alive.” I become through the practise of placing myself at dissimilar times inwards the world. If you lot were live during World War I, or influenza, or the Great Depression, too there’s World War II to come. If you lot were inwards the 1960s, too Martin Luther King was shot dead, too R.F.K. would afterwards acquire shot dead, too nosotros were inwards Vietnam too at that topographic point was a Cold War too a Cuban missile crisis — at that topographic point is no amend fourth dimension to live alive.
But having said that, I intend equally humanity we’re increasingly dealing amongst bigger things. As a society similar Google, nosotros take away maintain a deeper mission, too nosotros experience the weight of that on our shoulders. I experience similar people are energized too people desire to alter too brand the earth better.
Do you lot worry that Silicon Valley is suffering from groupthink too losing its edge?
There is zero inherent that says Silicon Valley volition e'er live the most innovative identify inwards the world. There is no God-given correct to live that way. But I experience confident that correct now, equally nosotros speak, at that topographic point are quietly people inwards the Valley working on roughly materials which nosotros volition afterwards await dorsum on inwards 10 years too experience was real profound. We experience we’re on the cusp of technologies, only similar the cyberspace before.
Do you lot nevertheless experience similar Silicon Valley has retained that idealism that struck you lot when you lot arrived here?
There’s nevertheless that optimism. But the optimism is tempered past times a sense of deliberation. Things take away maintain changed quite a bit. You know, nosotros deliberate well-nigh things a lot more, too nosotros are to a greater extent than thoughtful well-nigh what nosotros do. But there’s a deeper matter here, which is: Technology doesn’t solve humanity’s problems. It was e'er naïve to intend so. Technology is an enabler, but humanity has to bargain amongst humanity’s problems. I intend we’re both over-reliant on engineering equally a agency to solve things too probably, at this moment, over-indexing on engineering equally a source of all problems, too.
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