Pope Francis will meet with Eric Schmidt, philanthropist and former CEO of Google, on Friday. Jared Cohen, a former US state department official who is now head of Google Ideas, will also be present at the meeting. In 2013, Schmidt and Cohen co-wrote a book called The New Digital Age: Reshaping the Future of People, Nations and Business. Schmidt, whose net worth is an estimated $10.6bn, is the executive chairman and in effect the global ambassador of Alphabet – the newly formed conglomerate which includes Google, YouTube, Android and others. Alphabet is worth about $500bn, making it one of the largest public companies in the world. According to Bloomberg, Schmidt’s new role as “special adviser” for innovation will focus on issues such as artificial intelligence, machine learning and big data. The Pope and Schmidt share an interest in environmentalism and sustainability.
Pope Francis will meet with Eric Schmidt, philanthropist and former CEO of Google, on Friday. Jared Cohen, a former US state department official who is now head of Google Ideas, will also be present at the meeting. In 2013, Schmidt and Cohen co-wrote a book called The New Digital Age: Reshaping the Future of People, Nations and Business. Schmidt, whose net worth is an estimated $10.6bn, is the executive chairman and in effect the global ambassador of Alphabet – the newly formed conglomerate which includes Google, YouTube, Android and others. Alphabet is worth about $500bn, making it one of the largest public companies in the world. Pope Francis has referred to the internet as a “gift from God”. The Pope and Schmidt share an interest in environmentalism and sustainability.