Google DeepMind's Chief AI Readiness Officer has called for application-specific AI regulation and greater collaboration between governments and technology companies, while highlighting AI's role in education, agriculture and employment.
Google DeepMind's Chief AI Readiness Officer, Lila Ibrahim, has called for artificial intelligence regulations that address potential risks without restricting the technology's benefits, emphasising the need for cooperation between governments, technology companies and other stakeholders.
Speaking in an interview with NDTV, Ibrahim said AI safety and accountability should be incorporated into the development process rather than introduced after systems have been deployed. She argued that regulatory frameworks must consider the different ways AI is used across industries.
Ibrahim said AI governance cannot be managed by individual companies or countries alone, given the global availability and application of AI models. She advocated an approach that considers specific use cases instead of regulating AI as a single technology category.
The discussion also covered Google's efforts to apply AI in agriculture, particularly through DeepMind's collaboration with the Hyderabad-headquartered International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT).
The partnership focuses on developing open-source AI tools to support research into sorghum, commonly known as jowar in India. The initiative aims to assist researchers in developing crop varieties with improved resistance to drought and disease.
According to Ibrahim, sorghum supports the food, fuel and livestock-feed requirements of more than 500 million people globally. However, research into indigenous varieties grown in India and Africa has received comparatively limited attention.
The project remains in its research phase, with crop breeders contributing feedback to ensure the tools address practical agricultural requirements. Ibrahim said AI could potentially accelerate research processes that would otherwise take more than a decade.
Addressing education, Ibrahim highlighted the potential of AI-enabled personalised learning while stressing that such tools should support teachers rather than replace their role in classrooms.
She referred to Gemini's Guided Learning feature, which is designed to help students understand problems through a structured learning process instead of providing immediate answers.
Citing an eight-week trial in Sierra Leone, Ibrahim said middle-school students using Guided Learning with teacher support recorded progress equivalent to approximately 18 months of mathematics learning.
She also pointed to a pilot programme in Northern Ireland where teachers reported saving around 10 hours per week using Gemini.
However, Ibrahim cautioned that educational outcomes should not be assessed solely through examination performance, emphasising the importance of understanding whether students are developing knowledge and skills.
On employment, Ibrahim said professionals entering the workforce must prepare for changing job requirements as AI adoption expands.
Drawing on her experience in engineering and artificial intelligence, she identified adaptability, contextual understanding, curiosity and problem-solving as important workplace capabilities.
She added that while AI can assist with research and routine activities, human judgement and an understanding of organisational requirements remain important.
Her remarks come amid continuing discussions about AI governance, workforce readiness and the adoption of AI tools across public and private sectors.
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