Eric Schmidt Warns Resisting AI Means 'We'll Ultimately Lose,' Urges America To 'Figure Out What Autonomy Looks Like'

‘Former Google chief executive Eric Schmidt says the world doesn’t have a good understanding of artificial intelligence's social fallout, yet any attempt to block the technology will ensure we "ultimately lose."

What Happened: Speaking at SCSP's Exchange 2025 forum on Tuesday, Schmidt urged students and policymakers alike to "figure out what autonomy looks like" and "what intelligence looks like" before AI permeates every facet of life.

He pointed to Princeton sophomores writing novel reinforcement-learning code, which he hails as “an enormous asset for America,” to illustrate how fast the talent pipeline is maturing. That ingenuity, he added, will "change biology… physics and chemistry" and ultimately remake "kind of everything in our as-built world," from energy grids to drug discovery.

Recalling lessons from the late Henry Kissinger, his longtime co-author on The Age of AI, Schmidt said society will greet non-human intelligence as either "something magical… or something to fight."

See also: ‘AI Is A Big Deal,’ Says Bernie Sanders, Wants AI Productivity Gains To Benefit Workers, Not Just Wealthy Wall Street Shareholders

"We need to embrace it in the right way," he insisted. "If we fight it, we'll ultimately lose."

Why It Matters: The billionaire technologist has repeated that stance in recent public appearances, arguing that AI deployments avoid the usual corporate roadblocks because they "solve the problems that humans ask for." Yet he also concedes the tools could deepen confusion between online and offline reality, a risk he says demands urgent guardrails.

Skeptics such as psychologist and cognitive scientist Gary Marcus call Schmidt's bet of staying ahead on AI now and fixing collateral damage later — "risky." That said, Schmidt has previously warned that unchecked AI could become an “existential risk,” urging guardrails even as he invests heavily in the field.

All said, it is also worth noting that Schmidt does boast a strong nose for correctly predicting emerging tech trends and the loose platforms they’ll likely be based on.

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