“AI is deeper than fire” — A Warning or a Call to Responsibility?

What business leaders can learn from a bold statement by Sundar Pichai

In an interview with 60 Minutes, Google CEO Sundar Pichai made a statement that briefly made headlines — but deserves a closer, more thoughtful look:

“AI is deeper than fire, electricity, or the internet.”(Pelley, 2023)

At first glance, it might sound like an overstatement or just another marketing line. But it also challenges us to face a reality many corporate leaders still avoid:AI isn’t just another technology. It’s a new infrastructure for thinking.

What did he really mean?

Pichai wasn’t only referring to technical power — he was talking about the scale of disruption. Just as fire reshaped human survival, AI is beginning to rewire how we learn, work, consume, and make decisions.

Yet despite this, many executives still treat AI like a peripheral experiment. At Promtior, we often hear comments like:

“We’re testing AI in a small support use case…”“We ran a pilot internally just to see if it works…”“We see it more as a future opportunity…”

But if AI is deeper than fire, why is it still being treated as a proof of concept?

Too often, organizations lack a true culture of adoption. They launch a chatbot without redesigning internal processes, or train a model without involving the data team.

The result? A general sense that “AI is important,” but no real competitive advantage.

What actually works

At Promtior, we’ve helped companies go beyond the hype and scale AI meaningfully. Across those success stories, we saw three key factors:

✅ A clear focus: They’re not just “trying AI” — they’re solving a real bottleneck (e.g. customer response time, manual processes, data classification).

✅ A sponsor with real influence: Not just an enthusiastic techie, but someone who can align technology with business goals.

✅ Impact measurement from day one: Adoption and business metrics are tracked alongside technical performance — not just accuracy or F1 scores.

AI becomes tangible when it’s tied to a real KPI.

Final thought

Pichai’s quote may be uncomfortable — but it’s also an invitation.It’s not about having the most advanced tech. It’s about having the organizational courage to lead with purpose.

“AI will be as good or as bad as humanity allows.”(Pelley, 2023)

The responsibility isn’t in the future anymore.It’s here. It’s now.

And you?

Does your company have a clear vision for what it wants to achieve with AI?

Who owns that vision? Is it connected to the business — or just to technology?