- Google asked Larry Page and Sergey Brin for help in the fight against ChatGPT, writes The New York Times.
- The pair reportedly met with executives to discuss the company’s AI strategy.
- The release of OpenAI’s typing bot has raised concerns about the future of Google’s search engine.
Google owner Alphabet has asked co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin for help after issuing a “code red” following the release of its OpenAI scripting tool, The New York Times reported.
The November 30 release of ChatGPT sparked internal concerns over the continued dominance of Google’s search engine. CEO Sundar Pichai held meetings about Google’s AI strategy in December, and the company reportedly issued a “code red” after the AI bot quickly gained popularity.
That prompted Pichai’s calls to Page and Brin, more than three years after they stepped down from executive roles, The Times reported. The co-founders remain on Alphabet’s board.
According to the report, Page and Brin held “several” meetings with executives last month to strategize on Google’s artificial intelligence and approve plans to include more chatbot features in its search engine.
Page and Brin have not actually been closely involved in the company’s operations since 2019, an unnamed source told the paper, and have only visited the Silicon Valley offices to check out its “moonshot” projects.
Vic Gundotra, a former senior vice president at Google, told The Times that the co-founders had always been interested in AI. Page was reportedly unimpressed with Gmail’s new feature in 2008, saying, “Why can’t it automatically write you that email.”
An Alphabet representative told The Times: “We continue to test our AI technology internally to make sure it’s useful and safe, and we look forward to sharing more experiences externally soon.”
The company did not respond to Insider’s request for comment.
As Google grew increasingly concerned about the threat posed by ChatGPT, Insider’s Thomas Maxwell identified 12 power players working on the technology needed to fight back.
The chatbot, which amassed a million users in just five days, Insider reported, simplifies the search process. It can also take on complex tasks such as writing a children’s book, answering Hinge matches, writing cover letters and even giving career advice.
The chatbot craze has also raised concerns about misinformation. Experts in artificial intelligence told Insider that it is unable to verify itself and cannot distinguish verified fact from misinformation. Bloomberg reported that it can also generate racist and sexist responses.
Google announced sweeping cuts to its workforce on Friday, eliminating 12,000 jobs. In an email to staff, Pichai said he takes “full responsibility for the decisions that got us here.”