Sergey Brin co-founded Google in the 1990s with Larry Page. The two stepped down from running the company in 2019. But the AI boom has brought Brin back to the office. He seems to think everyone should follow his lead.

In his latest internal memo, he advised employees to show up at the office every day to help Google win the AI race.

sergey brin nyt
Google co-founder Sergey Brin and Apple CEO Tim Cook (wearing glasses) at the inauguration of President Donald Trump, January 20. Photo: NYT

Since ChatGPT launched in late 2022, creating a global AI "fever", Google has always tried to maintain its role as an AI pioneer.

Google co-founder says the company can lead the AI industry, creating more intelligent AI (AGI) if employees work harder.

For those in the Gemini group—Google’s AI modeling and application team—he suggests a 60-hour workweek is ideal. That’s equivalent to working 12 hours a day, Monday through Friday, according to Ars Technica .

Brin's stance, however, does not represent a change in Google's official work policy. Currently, Google requires employees to come into the office at least three days a week.

The announcement shows Brin's belief that AGI could be within Google's grasp, given that the company has “all the ingredients” to win, but efforts must be scaled up.

Brin stressed that Google employees need to use more AI to program and that self-improving AI will lead to AGI. He also called on Gemini employees to become “the most effective programmers and AI scientists in the world using our own AI.”

AGI is smarter than all AI today in its ability to understand context and think like a human.

Since returning to Google, Brin has spent a lot of time working with AI experts at Google DeepMind. In two years, the company has restructured its business, integrated AI into many of its applications, and released updates to AI at a rapid pace.

However, he also opposes working more than 60 hours a week because it will exhaust the labor force. He does not forget to criticize those who work less than 60 hours and just "do it for the sake of it", affecting the results and spirit of others.

(According to NYT, Ars Technica)