The Ruth Porat of Alphabet brings a pragmatic optimism to the AI competition, while also reminding us of potential downside risks.
Fortune
1h ago
Ai Focus
During the Fortune Most Influential Women Summit, Alphabet President and Chief Investment Officer Ruth Porat stated that the company will invest approximately $200 billion this year in AI capacity building, with even more planned for 2027. She emphasized that without jointly mitigating the downward risks of AI, it will be impossible to seize the upward opportunities. The article also touched on topics such as wealth inheritance, female leadership, and McKinsey's predictions regarding the automation of working hours in the United States.
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Good morning, this is Santa Barbara. We are in the second day of the Fortune Most Influential Women's Summit. We are discussing leadership, healthcare, geopolitics, media trends, trust, the next round of wealth creation, and of course, AI with leaders present on site. Here are some highlights from the current conversations.

About AI:Google and Alphabet, President and Chief Investment Officer, Ruth Porat, brought a pragmatic optimism to a discussion that was mainly led by "people who rarely leave the office." Porat, representing one of the largest participants in the AI competition, told Fortune Editor-in-Chief Alyson Shontell that Alphabet will invest approximately $200 billion this year in capacity expansion, with even more to be invested in 2027, and stated, "We truly believe this is an opportunity that will last for a considerable amount of time."

However, in terms of influence, Porat, who ranked 11th on this year's list of the most influential women in Fortune, seems to be more aligned with the mainstream approach compared to Silicon Valley. One reason might be that she joined Google from Wall Street in 2015, bringing rigor, transparency, and discipline to the company, whereas at that time, Google had already expanded its operations beyond search and advertising to include robotics, autonomous vehicles, solar drones, wearable devices, and a range of other business areas.

She talked about investments in skilled workers, energy capacity, and trust in AI. As she said in front of the audience at MPW, "If we cannot jointly mitigate the downside risks of AI, we will not have the opportunity to seize the upside potential."

Regarding wealth:By 2048, it is estimated that there will be approximately $124 trillion in wealth to be passed down across generations, with a significant portion of this wealth going to women, coming from their partners and parents. I discussed with three leaders how these trends will impact philanthropy, investment, entrepreneurship, and overall consumption.

However, Deloitte, the head of the US federal healthcare department, Beth Meagher pointed out that as we focus excessively on cutting-edge models and geopolitics, the opportunities brought about by this shift may be overlooked. She said, "I believe this shift presents a tremendous opportunity for us to take the lead from the front lines."

Morgan Stanley The Managing Director also saw this opportunity. She founded a non-profit organization, Girls Who Invest, with the aim of enabling more women to enter this industry; Morgan Stanley also has an incubator for female tech entrepreneurs.

Women's Foundation of the South Chief Executive Officer Carmen James Randolph is collaborating with a new generation of philanthropists who hope that their funds can address specific issues, such as improving maternal healthcare in areas where doctors and clinics are scarce.

About leadership:Since the mid-1990s, women have consistently outperformed men in obtaining university and graduate degrees. Although they are still lagging behind in certain STEM disciplines, what hinders many women is not a lack of ability, but rather opportunities, willingness, and other factors. As my colleague Claire Zillman discussed with a group of leaders yesterday, the pace at which women are promoted to senior management positions is slowing down.

Some challenges are at the individual level. Upwork, the president and CEO of the freelance market platform, told Zillman: “I grew up in a family that is very supportive of women, but even so, about 10 years ago, our board chairman said to me, ‘You should become CEO.’ I thought to myself, ‘Really?’”

Other challenges are not unique to women. Centene, the CEO, stated to Sheryl Estrada that leading a large health insurance company these days can be unsettling. Her work in improving access to healthcare and investing in affordable housing may be overshadowed by anger, which sometimes makes her a target of public criticism.

What keeps her motivated is opportunity. She says, “I joined Centene because I truly believe, at its core, that compared to technological progress and digitalization, healthcare is at a critical juncture in need of a turnaround. I want to be part of it.” She believes that these opportunities will continue to expand.

Welcome to watch more conversations from the front lines today through live broadcasts.

You can contact CEO Daily through Diane Brady. The email address is diane.brady @ fortune.com.

Senior Leadership News

By 2035, half of the working hours in the United States could be automated, according to McKinsey.

According to McKinsey, by 2035, automation could account for more than half of the working hours in the United States, with office and administrative positions being particularly vulnerable to this impact. However, the report points out that a greater challenge for employers is to help employees develop the necessary skills in response to these changes in work.

LinkedIn Testing a project that teaches people how to start a business

LinkedIn is testing a free 14-week program that teaches people how to start and run a business. The first batch of participants consists of 30 company employees. Participants learn through simulation exercises how to pitch to investors, recruit staff, and manage public relations crises.

Delta CEO says even if fuel prices drop, air ticket prices may remain high

Delta The Chief Executive Officer Ed Bastian stated that as long as passengers continue to accept higher ticket prices, even if fuel costs decrease, airfare may remain high. Strong demand has helped the airline absorb the higher fuel costs, but it still lowered its annual profit forecast last week.

Market

S&P 500 index futures were flat this morning, closing down 0.6% from the previous trading day. Japan's Nikkei 225 index fell 1.8% after a long weekend. South Korea's KOSPI index declined 5.5%, continuing yesterday's downward trend. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.3%, while Taiwan's weighted index fell 2.0%. South Korean chip manufacturer SK Hynix lost more than 10.0%; SoftBank tumbled 8.5%. India's NIFTY 50 index is currently up 1.3%, and Europe's Stoxx 600 index rose 0.5% in the early session. Bitcoin is hovering around $84,000.

Tea room topics

  • "Normalcy will be trading with agents": How cryptocurrency founders learn to love—and fear—AI, by author Angelica Ang
  • Dario Strangelove, or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Fall in Love with AI Bombs, by Nick Lichtenberg
  • Satya Nadella grew from a visa worker to a CEO at Microsoft from H-1B. The Trump administration has just cut off this path for his employees, writes Andrew McGowan.
  • This fall, election odds will appear on your TV screens. 60% of Americans are against betting on elections, author Tatiana Sataua

Today's CEO Daily was planned and edited by Joseph Abrams, Jason Ma, Nicholas Gordon, and Lee Clifford.

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