16 Year Google Veteran Slams Sundar Pichai's AI Efforts, Says Projects Driven By 'Panic:' Compares It To Failed Social Network Google+

May 21, 202413:31 UTC

A former Alphabet Inc. GOOG GOOGL Google engineer criticized the Sundar Pichai-led company’s AI projects, saying they were driven by “panic” rather than user needs.

What Happened: The former Google engineer, Scott Jenson, who left the company last month after working there for 16 years, expressed his concerns about the AI projects he worked on at Google.

He said that these projects were not user-driven but rather motivated by a fear of being left behind.

The engineer also drew a parallel between the current AI endeavors and Google’s previous failure with Google+ 13 years ago, which was a reaction to Facebook. He also mentioned that Apple is pursuing a similar AI lock-in with Siri.

Google did not immediately respond to Benzinga's request for comment.

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"The vision is that there will be a Tony Stark-like Jarvis assistant in your phone that locks you into their ecosystem so hard that you’ll never leave. That vision is pure catnip."

“When the emperor, eventually, has no clothes, they’ll be lapped by someone thinking bigger,” Jenson wrote, suggesting that the current approach may not be sustainable in the long run.

Why It Matters: This criticism comes at a time when Google is said to be about six months behind OpenAI in AI development, according to Deepwater Asset Management's Gene Munster.

However, this is not the first time Google’s AI efforts have come under scrutiny. Earlier this year, employees criticized the company’s leadership for a lack of vision, and in 2023, a former Google employee called out CEO Sundar Pichai for a lack of visionary leadership.

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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of Benzinga Neuro and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

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