Google's chief Australian engineer and global head of its photos and communications tools has warned government and business must answer tough questions about the potential negative impacts of artificial intelligence on jobs and society now, and work together with academia to ensure economies and humanity improve as tech gets smarter.

Canadian-born Australian citizen Anil Sabharwal relocated to Sydney from Google's Mountain View headquarters earlier this year, to head up its 700-strong team of engineers. He remains one of the most influential executives within Google globally, as the head of its photo-organising app Google Photos and its communications tools.