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CALIFORNIA: When Alphabet Inc chairman Eric Schmidt looks to the near future, he sees breakthroughs in health and technology that will change the world. For example, Schmidt said he’s looking forward to advances in genetics, thanks to technology that will improve gene sequencing, and more personalised and efficient health care as the medical world becomes increasingly digitised.
Speaking at Bloomberg ’s Breakaway conference Wednesday in New York, Schmidt also said Alphabet, the holding company that owns Google and other businesses including Nest and Fiber, will probably never break up and its job is to seek out transformative solutions.
“There’s tremendous optimism around this next generation of scientists and thinkers,” Schmidt said. “There are problems that bedeviled us for centuries that can in fact be solved.”
Tech companies are playing a larger role in politics than in the past and are spending more money on lobbying and campaign contributions. The US made two controversial attempts this year to get Apple to unlock its iPhones.
In Europe, Google faces challenges related to privacy, data ownership and charges of abusing monopoly power. Schmidt said he is concerned that Europe has an anti-American view of technology platforms.
Google reorganised its various businesses into separate subsidiaries under the Alphabet holding company in August, giving its main Web operation greater independence while providing investors with more visibility into its other bets. Schmidt praised the structure for allowing Alphabet to keep expanding into new areas and spurring innovation. The company is still run by the two founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, who are demanding and have only become more so since the reorganisation, he said.
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Subscribe to The Economic Times Prime and read the ET ePaper online.