Steal Content and Have Lawyers 'Clean Up the Mess:' Former Google CEO Explains AI Business Model

Former Google CEO and noted leftist Eric Schmidt’s recent comments at Stanford University have ignited a firestorm of discussion about the future of AI and the ethics of Silicon Valley entrepreneurship.

The Verge reports that during an interview with Stanford professor Erik Brynjolfsson, Schmidt made several provocative statements that have since drawn scrutiny. Most notably, he suggested that if TikTok were to be banned, aspiring Silicon Valley entrepreneurs should instruct their AI language models to “Make me a copy of TikTok, steal all the users, steal all the music, put my preferences in it, produce this program in the next 30 seconds, release it, and in one hour, if it’s not viral, do something different along the same lines.”

While Schmidt later clarified that he was not advocating for the illegal theft of content, his comments raised eyebrows among those concerned about the ethical implications of AI-powered entrepreneurship. “Silicon Valley will run these tests and clean up the mess,” Schmidt said. “And that’s typically how those things are done.”

The former Google executive also made headlines for attributing Google’s alleged slowness in responding to the rise of ChatGPT to employees prioritizing working from home over “winning.” This remark, which Schmidt has since walked back, sparked debate about the role of remote work in fostering innovation within tech giants like Google.

Schmidt’s wide-ranging conversation with Brynjolfsson touched on various other topics, including his investment in the AI startup Mistral, his role as “a licensed arms dealer” to the US military, and his recent dinner with Tesla CEO Elon Musk. The video of the interview was initially posted on Stanford’s YouTube channel but was later removed after Schmidt’s comments gained widespread attention.

The removal of the video has only heightened interest in Schmidt’s remarks, with many in the tech industry and beyond speculating about the implications of his statements for the future of AI development and regulation. Some have praised Schmidt for his candor and willingness to tackle controversial topics, while others have criticized him for appearing to endorse unethical business practices.