Business Daily — BBC World Service

Special Interview with Google CEO Sundar Pichai

Aired: November 18, 2025
Host: Faisal Islam
Guest: Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google

Episode Overview

In this episode, BBC's economics editor Faisal Islam interviews Google's CEO Sundar Pichai at Google's California headquarters. The discussion dives into the enormous advances in artificial intelligence, the scale and impact of big tech investment, the societal and ethical dilemmas AI presents, economic disruption, energy concerns, and how both industry and individuals can prepare for the accelerating change. Pichai offers candid views on Google's strategy, responsibilities, and his optimism for the future.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The AI Inflection Point and Investment Boom

• Pichai describes AI as a new technological era:
  • Compared AI's emergence to previous waves: personal computers, the Internet, mobile, and cloud. Now, “it’s clearly the era of AI.” — [04:13]
• Scale of investment:
  • Google’s annual infrastructure capital spend jumped from ~$30B four years ago to over $90B now. Industry-wide, over $1 trillion is being invested.
  • “One way I think about it is, in the next couple of years, we’ll end up building what we probably built in the past 10 to 20 years.” ([05:00] Pichai)

2. AI Bubble or Rational Excitement?

• Pichai asserts current excitement is “very rational” given AI’s tangible progress and demand.
• Acknowledges tech cycles do overshoot but draws an analogy with Internet investment: over-investment happened but the impact was transformative and permanent.
  • “There are elements of irrationality…[but AI] is both rational and…excitement is very rational.” ([05:57] Pichai)

3. The Future of Work and Human Adaptation

• Potential for AI to automate even C-suite jobs:
  • “I think what a CEO does is maybe one of the easier things for AI to do one day.” ([01:45] & [08:22] Pichai)
• Immediate future: complex AI agents:
  • Pichai predicts AI agents able to perform more complex tasks for users within the next 12 months.
  • “That kind of agentic experience…this is what we are all excited about…help you make a decision…tangible use cases.” ([07:16] Pichai)
• Disruption versus opportunity:
  • AI will both automate and create roles, freeing people to focus on other tasks, similar to how household devices once transformed daily life.
  • Example: “A dishwasher coming to your home…refrigerator…radically changed my mom’s life...It freed her up to do other things.” ([08:40] Pichai)
  • Admits, “There will be areas where it will impact some jobs. So as a society I think we need to be having those conversations.” ([09:54] Pichai)

4. Advice for the Next Generation

• On future-proofing careers:
  • “I would encourage the next generation to embrace the technology, learn to use it in the context of what you do…People who will learn to adopt and adapt to AI will do better.” ([10:58] Pichai)
  • Applies to all professions—teachers, doctors, creatives, etc.

5. Reliability, Truth, and Media Integrity

• On the accuracy of AI tools like Gemini:
  • “Current state-of-the-art AI technology is prone to some errors. This is why people also use Google Search…products which are more grounded in providing accurate information.” ([12:59] Pichai)
• Importance of a rich information ecosystem:
  • “Truth matters. Journalism matters. All of the surrounding things we have today matters.” ([13:47] Pichai)

6. Energy Demand & Environmental Impact

• AI’s huge energy appetite:
  • “AI is dramatically increasing demand for energy in a way current systems can’t fully cope up…but that is driving extraordinary investments in solar, in battery technology, in nuclear technology and other sources.” ([01:57], [14:21] Pichai)
• Commitment to sustainability:
  • Despite greater energy use and a more challenging net-zero trajectory, Google is still aiming for its 2030 target, focusing on investing in new energy sources.
  • “We are meeting the moment by investing in all these new technologies.” ([15:30] Pichai)

7. Copyright, Creators’ Rights, and AI Training Data

• On fair use vs. paying creators:
  • “It is so important as we go through this that we both help drive creativity and innovation. But we have to do that in a framework which respects creators’ rights...We are committed to copyright frameworks…When we train, we give people an opportunity to opt out of the training…” ([16:16] Pichai)
  • YouTube’s approach to valuing content owners is being applied to AI.

8. Big Tech’s Power & Political Engagement

• Optics of tech leaders’ political access:
  • Acknowledges closeness between tech and state, especially in the US, but frames engagement as a matter of national security and economic progress.
  • “We are deeply committed to engaging constructively…as a company of our scale should, and not only in the US but with other governments…” ([17:40] Pichai)

9. US Immigration, Visas, and Tech Talent

• On visa policy changes:
  • Pichai, who arrived in the US on an H1B visa, recognizes immigrants' immense contribution to innovation and is optimistic about ongoing access to global talent despite policy shifts.
  • “The contribution of immigrants to the sector has been nothing but phenomenal…we’ll be able to continue investing.” ([18:37] Pichai)

10. AI Safety, Risk, and Future Development

• On AI existential risk and pace:
  • “We want to be bold and responsible at the same time. So we are moving fast through this moment...We are open sourcing technology…to detect whether an image is generated by AI.” ([19:34] Pichai)
• Diversity of AI ecosystem:
  • Dismisses fears of a single-company AGI dictatorship, noting multiple large players and diverse, open-source models.
  • “If there was only one company which was building AI technology…I would be concerned. But we are so far from that scenario right now.” ([20:35] Pichai)

11. Closing Thoughts & Optimism

• Adapting to Wonder:
  • Pichai ends with a personal anecdote about his 80-year-old father riding in a self-driving Waymo car, emphasizing the everyday wonder technology can bring.
  • “Seeing him experience it helped me understand the progress we all take for granted. There are going to be many such wonderful things in the future.” ([21:11] Pichai)

Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• “It’s clearly the era of AI. And that’s the excitement you probably felt around campus as well as in this whole region.”
  — Sundar Pichai [04:13]

• “One way to think about the scale…in the next couple of years, we’ll end up building what we probably built in the past 10 to 20 years.”
  — Sundar Pichai [05:00]

• “I think what a CEO does is maybe one of the easier things to maybe for AI to do one day.”
  — Sundar Pichai [01:45], [08:22]

• “There are elements of irrationality…[but AI] is both rational and…excitement is very rational.”
  — Sundar Pichai [05:57]

• “The people who will do well in each of those professions are people who learn how to use these tools.”
  — Sundar Pichai [10:58]

• “AI is dramatically increasing demand for energy in a way the current systems can’t fully cope up. But that is driving extraordinary investments.”
  — Sundar Pichai [01:57], [14:21]

• “Truth matters. Journalism matters. All of the surrounding things we have today matters.”
  — Sundar Pichai [13:47]

• “If there was only one company which was building AI technology… I would be concerned… But we are so far from that scenario right now.”
  — Sundar Pichai [20:35]

• “Seeing [my dad] experience [a Waymo car] helped me understand the progress we all take for granted.”
  — Sundar Pichai [21:11]

Important Timestamps

• [01:30] Pichai’s advice to the next generation
• [04:13] The current inflection point in technology (AI era)
• [05:00] Explosive scale of AI investment
• [07:16] Future capabilities of AI agents and complex task automation
• [08:40] AI’s impact on jobs and parallel to previous automation
• [10:58] Practical advice for parents and youth on adapting to AI
• [12:59] Reliability and truth in AI tools like Gemini
• [14:21] AI-driven energy demands and Google’s sustainability strategy
• [16:16] On copyright, AI training, and paying creators
• [17:40] Tech leaders’ role alongside political power
• [18:37] Visa policy and the importance of immigrant talent
• [19:34] Balancing AI progress with safety and risk mitigation
• [20:35] Multiple players in AI—debunking the ‘AGI dictatorship’
• [21:11] Closing optimism and wonder of technological progress

Tone & Takeaway

The conversation is forward-looking, candid, and optimistic, yet rooted in realism about the scale of change and genuine concern for societal adaptation. Pichai balances excitement for AI’s capabilities with caution on ethics, energy, and job displacement, while urging society to “embrace the technology” and collectively adapt.

This episode is essential listening for anyone interested in the future of work, business, and technology’s impact on society.