Google’s Brin demands 60-hour weeks for AI race
CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES — To accelerate Google’s artificial intelligence development, co-founder Sergey Brin has urged employees working on the company’s Gemini AI models to work 60 hours weekly and return to the office full-time.
The billionaire, worth an estimated $144 billion, believes this increased commitment is necessary to win the intensifying race toward artificial general intelligence (AGI).
“Competition has accelerated immensely and the final race to AGI is afoot,” Brin wrote in an internal memo directed at Gemini engineers. “I think we have all the ingredients to win this race, but we are going to have to turbocharge our efforts.”
The “sweet spot” of productivity
Brin’s memo specifically identifies 60 hours as the ideal workload, cautioning that exceeding this threshold could lead to burnout while working fewer hours might be insufficient. He was particularly critical of employees who put in minimal effort, describing them as “not only unproductive but also highly demoralizing to everyone else.”
“In my experience, about 60 hours a week is the sweet spot of productivity,” Brin stated. “Some folks put in a lot more but can burn out or lose creativity.”
The Google co-founder also recommended that employees be present in the office “at least every weekday,” despite the company’s official hybrid policy requiring only three days of in-office attendance weekly.
AI tools for enhanced efficiency
Interestingly, Brin encouraged engineers to leverage Google’s own AI models to assist in writing code, suggesting this approach would make them “the most efficient coders and AI scientists in the world.”
This push comes at a time when Google faces intense competition from rivals like OpenAI and Microsoft. Brin, who has recently returned to Google’s headquarters in Mountain View following ChatGPT’s launch, appears determined to regain Google’s competitive edge in the AI industry.
The memo reflects a broader trend in corporate America, with many companies urging employees to return to offices more frequently. Similar calls for extended work hours have come from other tech industry leaders, including Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy, who suggested a 70-hour workweek last year.
