Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai is set to become a billionaire thanks to his company’s rise in artificial intelligence technology, despite the backlash to his anti-white algorithm.
Pichai, 51, has seen his personal wealth soar since he took over the tech giant in 2015, and Google shares have risen more than 400 percent in that time.
On Friday, the growth of parent company Alphabet’s artificial intelligence technology was cited as the reason the company beat expectations in posting first-quarter earnings, boosting Pichai’s fortune to nearly $1 billion, according to Bloomberg.
The injection of AI money comes despite the launch of Google’s Gemini imaging tool in February, which drew criticism because it appeared to refuse to generate images of Caucasian people.
Sundar Pichai, 51, will become a billionaire thanks to Alphabet’s growth in the artificial intelligence industry
This comes despite backlash against Gemini, Google’s AI technology, which appeared to refuse to generate images of Caucasian people, even when ordered to create an image of a Nazi (pictured).
Pichai apologized for the botched tech launch, calling the images “problematic” and saying the company was working “around the clock” to fix the error.
Pichai apologized for Gemini’s apparent anti-white algorithm shortly after its launch, as users shared their failed attempts at generating an image of a Caucasian person.
This included ordering the AI to create images of a Pope, a Viking, and a Nazi, all of which unexpectedly featured people of color.
The AI chatbot feature also drew criticism as it refused to condemn pedophilia and appeared to find favor with abusers as it stated that “individuals cannot control who they are attracted to.”
Politically Correct Tech referred to pedophilia as “minor-attracted status,” stating that “it is important to understand that attractions are not actions.”
Amid backlash, future billionaire Pichai responded in a memo to staff, calling the images “problematic” and saying the company was working “around the clock” to correct the error.
“No Al is perfect, especially at this emerging stage of industry development, but we know the bar is high for us and we will keep it that way for as long as it takes,” Pichai said.
“And we will review what happened and make sure we fix it at scale.”
The company briefly halted the rollout of the technology after its errors went viral, wiping $90 million off Alphabet’s market value before it recovered.
Although now cited as the reason for Pichai’s rising net worth, the botched release of Gemini also caused Alphabet shares to fall 4.4 percent.
Shares of Google parent company Alphabet fell 4.4 percent after the Gemini errors dominated the headlines.
Politically Correct Tech referred to pedophilia as “minor-attracted status,” stating that “it is important to understand that attractions are not actions.”
The robot appeared to find favor with abusers as it declared that “individuals cannot control who they are attracted to.”
Users complained that the technology’s algorithm seemed to avoid directly generating images of white people, even when asked to make an image of a Pope (pictured).
Pichai’s current net worth is made up of $424 million in stocks and around $600 million in stock sales since he became CEO of Google. In the photo, Pichai’s mansion in California, valued at 40 million dollars.
Pichai’s rise through Google’s ranks came after a humble upbringing in Chennai, India, where he was sometimes raised in a house without running water.
He won scholarships to Stanford and Wharton before joining Google in 2004, where he reportedly quickly began leading major projects, including the launch of Google Chrome.
In 2015, co-founder Larry Page announced he would become CEO of newly formed parent company Alphabet, while Pichai was promoted to CEO of Google.
In 2019, he was named CEO of Alphabet and, thanks to stock options, became one of the highest-paid executives in the world, with reported 2022 compensation exceeding $200 million.
According to Bloomberg, his current net worth is made up of $424 million in stocks and around $600 million in stock sales since becoming CEO of Google.