Google's focus on AI has led to a $2 billion investment in OpenAI competitor Anthropic and the launch of its large language model, Gemini. However, the company has been accused of faking demonstrations and its AI efforts have been criticized for filling search results with SEO filler and scams. Theriault's comments suggest that Google's actions have had a negative impact on morale, with only 45% of employees believing the company has a clear vision, according to an internal survey.
Key takeaways:
- Diane Theriault, a software engineer at Google, criticized the company's pivot to AI and its leadership in a LinkedIn post, stating that the leaders lack vision and are killing their 'golden goose'.
- Google has been laying off employees, including hundreds from its ad sales team, and more layoffs are expected. The company's 'moonshot' division X was also hit with layoffs.
- Google has invested $2 billion in OpenAI competitor Anthropic and is looking to reassign or let go of sales workers whose jobs were automated by the company's new AI tools.
- Despite the launch of its latest large language model, Gemini, the company has been criticized for faking the demonstration and its Bard chatbot was caught spewing misinformation. Theriault suggests that Google's actions have left a mark and it remains to be seen if its investments in AI will pay off.