A leaked memo from a Google researcher that surfaced a few months ago cast doubt on the company’s future in artificial intelligence (AI), claiming that Google had no moat in the industry. Now, confirmation has seemingly arrived that the memo was indeed real. In an interview, Demis Hassabis, the CEO of Google’s DeepMind, acknowledged the legitimacy of the memo but disagreed with its conclusions.
Hassabis stated, I think that memo was real. I think engineers at Google often write various documents, and sometimes they get leaked and go viral. I think it’s interesting to listen to them, and then you’ve got to chart your own course. And I haven’t read that specific memo in detail, but I disagree with the conclusions from that.
The leaked memo, obtained from a public Discord server by SemiAnalysis, suggests that both Google and OpenAI lack what they need to thrive in the AI industry. According to the researcher, a third faction, composed of open-source AI models, is quietly outperforming them with models that are faster, more customizable, more private, and pound-for-pound more capable.
Despite the findings in the memo, Hassabis maintains a more positive outlook for Google’s future in the AI industry. He believes that the competitive nature of the company’s researchers will propel Google to the forefront of AI. Additionally, Hassabis mentions that the recent merger of Google Brain and Google DeepMind teams, which he was asked to lead, will likely lead to more groundbreaking developments.
Look at the history of what Google and DeepMind have done in terms of coming up with new innovations and breakthroughs, Hassabis remarked. I would bet on us, and I’m certainly very confident that that will continue and actually be even more true over the next decade in terms of us producing the next key breakthroughs just like we did in the past.
While the leaked memo raised concerns about Google’s position in the AI industry, Hassabis’s positive outlook suggests that the company is well-equipped to tackle the challenges ahead. Google’s track record of innovation, coupled with the combined expertise of the Google Brain and Google DeepMind teams, positions them favorably for further advancements in AI in the coming years. As the industry continues to evolve, it will be interesting to see how Google’s research and development efforts contribute to the next wave of AI breakthroughs.
