DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ How Google CEO Sundar Pichai shook up his leadership team for the AI era
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-16 | by ( Hugh Langley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

It came almost 12 months after Google combined two key AI groups, DeepMind and Google Brain. Google's AI MVPGoogle DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis GoogleDemis Hassabis might be the most important person at Google right now. Then, in April last year, Pichai announced he would merge DeepMind with Google's in-house AI unit, known as Brain, into a supergroup named Google DeepMind. Reid reports directly to Raghavan, the ads and search senior vice president, and is shepherding a dramatic transition of Google Search. Fears of chatbots eating into Google's search dominance have yet to be realized, giving Google time to reinvent its most hallowed product.

Persons: —, Sundar Pichai, Pichai, Susan Wojcicki, Demis, Hassabis, Larry Page, DeepMind, OpenAI, it's, accrues, ED JONES, Rick Osterloh, Sameer Samat, he'll, Hiroshi Lockheimer, Osterloh, Prabhakar Raghavan, Siri, Tim Cook, Hiroshi, SAJJAD HUSSAIN, Liz Reid, Reid, Raghavan, Pandu Nayak, Venkatachary, It's, chatbots, Bernstein, Mark Shmulik Organizations: Service, Google, Business, Google's, BI, Research, Hassabis, Android, Apple, Apple's Vision, CNBC, Google Local Locations: Raxium

☆ An AI agent may soon be at your beck and call, but it might cost you a bit of your privacy
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

In today's big story, we're looking at Google's big event that's pitching all the ways AI agents can make our lives easier . Google I/O, the tech giant's biggest developer conference, was heavy on the rise of so-called AI agents , writes Business Insider's Hugh Langley, who was there in person. AdvertisementGoogle's faithful, old search engine got a noticeable facelift with the help of AI , writes BI's Geoff Weiss. Steven Puetzer/Getty, Tyler Le/BIThe stakes for Google are high, as nailing AI agents opens up a massive business opportunity. For AI agents to be so intuitive, they'll need access to seemingly every aspect of our lives.

Persons: —, Tyler Le, you've, OpenAI's ChatGPT, Hugh Langley, Sundar Pichai, Geoff Weiss, Hugh, Alistair Barr, Gregory Wayne, Steven Puetzer, hasn't, Alistair, Demis Hassabis, Minchillo, Keith Gill, Naz Vahid, Andy Sieg's, Noah Berger, Jia Feng, Tingting Ji, Jenny Chang, Rodriguez, BI's Peter Kafka, Dan DeFrancesco, Jordan Parker Erb, Hallam Bullock, George Glover Organizations: Service, Business, Google, Astra, GameStop, AMC Entertainment, JPMorgan, Citi, Amazon Web Services, Walmart, UPS, Nielsen, Cisco Systems, Warner Bros, Discovery Locations: New York, Dublin, London

☆ Inside the life and career of Larry Page, Google's co-founder and first CEO
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( Avery Hartmans | Lakshmi Varanasi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

AdvertisementSo who is Larry Page and how did he get to where he is today? AdvertisementPage and Sergey Brin create GoogleGoogle co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page met as students at Stanford. Google's parent company, Alphabet, has developed self-driving cars through Waymo, the company formerly known as the Google Self-Driving Car project. Page's personal lifeGoogle cofounder Larry Page and his wife, the scientist Lucinda Southworth C Flanigan/FilmMagicThroughout it all, Page has kept information about his personal life closely guarded. Life after GoogleGoogle cofounder Larry Page bought Cayo Norte, an island in Puerto Rico.

Persons: —, Larry Page, Sergey Brin, Page, Sundar Pichai, Gloria, Carl Page —, Larry, what's, Nikola Tesla, he's, Brin's, BackRub, Brin, Eric Schmidt, Schmidt, Andy Rubin's, he'd, Andrew Kelly, Sergey, Lucinda Southworth C, Lucinda Southworth, Richard Branson, Page's, Carl Victor Page, Carl Page, He's, Hugh Langley Organizations: Service, Google, Business, Michigan State University . Education, Getty, Michigan State University, The, Montessori, Google Google, Stanford, Associated Press, University of Michigan, Labs, Reuters Page, Virgin Group, Investments, Carl Victor Page Memorial Foundation, Zee Aero, Pacific, Virgin Island, Atomic Locations: Michigan, Waymo, Toronto, Stanford, Caribbean, Palo Alto, Cayo Norte, Puerto Rico, Koop, Tavarua, Fiji

☆ Google just gave us a tantalizing glimpse into the future of AI agents
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-14 | by ( Hugh Langley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Read previewWhat if the Google Assistant was actually… an assistant? In short: AI agents are what have the best shot at taking this technology from "nice to have" to "need to have." But there are other ways these AI agents will emerge in the nearer term. Google teased a combination of updates that will soon make its Gemini AI chatbot more capable and proactive. Tentacles and tailoringBut it's in its legacy products that Google really has an edge when it comes to enabling agent-like qualities.

Persons: —, It's, Sundar Pichai, Pichai, Astra Pichai, We've, Demis Hassabis, OpenAI, Sissie Hsiao, Hsiao, Chatbots, Liz Reid, Google's, Reid Organizations: Service, Google, Business, Astra, Gemini Locations: London

☆ Internal document shows Google using uncertainty over a TikTok ban to try to win more ad dollars for YouTube
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-08 | by ( Hugh Langley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

YouTube, TikTok, and Meta are fighting for ad spendA TikTok ban could have huge upside for YouTube. While YouTube is eating up more ad dollars, the platform is still behind Meta in terms of total video ad spend in the US, based on projected data from eMarketer. AdvertisementMeanwhile, TikTok has been gaining ground, with eMarketer predicting TikTok will have almost caught up to YouTube in terms of video ad dollars by 2025 in the US (assuming TikTok isn't banned). And like YouTube, the Chinese-owned app is also trying to take ad dollars away from TV networks and video streamers. It's still not clear how many ad dollars are moving to YouTube Shorts, but Google Chief Business Officer Phillip Schindler talked up the service on the company's latest investor call.

Persons: —, Joe Biden, YouTube's, Sundar Pichai, Zuckerberg, TikTok, isn't, eMarketer, Meta's, It's, Phillip Schindler Organizations: Service, Google, YouTube, Business, Apple, BI, Pew Research Locations: USA

☆ Man Behind California Forever, Silicon Valley's City of the Future
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-05 | by ( Hugh Langley | Adam Rogers | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +29 min

He sees California Forever. And if he can't undo the damage, there may never be a California Forever. California Forever may be a subdivision, but it's precisely the kind of subdivision America needs right now. But here's the thing: California Forever may be a subdivision, but it's precisely the kind of subdivision America needs right now. Places like California Forever aren't being opposed by the people who are desperate for a place to live.

Persons: Jan Sramek's, Goldman Sachs, Sramek, Reid Hoffman, Laurene Powell Jobs, Marc Andreessen —, They've, Christie Hemm, Peter Thiel, Jan Sramek, Jan, Thiel, Goldman, CheatSheet, Sramek's, hadn't, Jonas Rave, who's, —, Guy Saidenberg, Evernote, Marc Andreessen, Jane Jacobs, He's, he'd, Robert Moses, growth.y Christie Hemm, Flannery, Bronson Johnson, David George, Andreessen Horowitz, Marilyn Farley, Farley, Solano County's, Kathleen Threlfall, Bill Mortimore, California Forever's, Jessica Christian, he's, Lyle Lanley, Solano, Sam Houston, weren't, Gabriel Metcalf, You've, John Garamendi, Garamendi, isn't, they'll, latte, Christie, Travis, I've, aren't, They're Organizations: Silicon, California, BI Development, University of Cambridge, London School of Economics, Party, Rising Star, Facebook, York, Sramek's, BI Sramek, Google, American, Planners, Sacramento -, Travis Air Force Base, Area, titans, Farmers, councilwoman, California Forever, Sacramento Municipal Utility District, Air Force, Flannery Associates, Disney, San Francisco, Vallejo Naval, Historical Museum, Rep, BI, Solano, Sierra, Goldman Locations: San Francisco, It's, Sramek, California, Rio Vista, Solano County, Napa, Sacramento, Silicon Valley, America, London, Zurich, England, Czech Republic, Dřevohostice, York, British, Eastern Europe, Cambridge, Bay Area, Hayes Valley, America's cutest, Atlanta, Phoenix, Copenhagen, Barcelona, New York, Sacramento - San Joaquin, San Francisco Bay, Lake Tahoe, Toledo , Ohio, Silicon, Google's, Toronto, Big Tech, China, Calif, Springfield, Vallejo, He's, Atherton, Foreverville, Fairfield, Austin, Solano, Valley, Europe

Big tech companies have pulled back on PERM applications, often the first step to a green card. AdvertisementBig tech companies have backed off green card applications in a big way because the process has become tougher and there's less competition for talent. "If some of these people say 'yes, I'm interested,' then you're out of luck with the green card application." So this makes the green card process potentially easier outside of places like the Bay Area and NYC, she explained. Are you a foreign tech worker struggling with a green card application?

Persons: Ava Benach, —, Googlers, Benach, It's, Hugh Langley, Kali Hays, Eugene Kim Organizations: Big, Google, Service, Department of Labor, Washington DC, Amazon, Business, Meta, Companies, Citizenship, Immigration Services, Supply, Bay, Labor, Area, Big Tech, US, Department, Labor Department, Software Engineer, Research Locations: PERM, Silicon Valley, New York City, Washington, khays@businessinsider.com

☆ Google says immigration rules are making it hard to hire top AI talent
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-01 | by ( Hugh Langley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Google wants the US to change immigration rules to help it hire AI talent. The company said its need for AI roles will "increase significantly" in the coming years. AdvertisementAs the AI wars heat up, Google says immigration rules must change if the US is to attract the talent needed to stay ahead. AdvertisementConsequently, companies have cut back on offering to put employees on US green card tracks. Amazon recently suspended new green card sponsorships until the end of 2024.

Persons: — Organizations: Google, US Department of Labor, Service, Department, Software Engineer, Research, Department of Labor, Companies, Amazon Locations: PERM

☆ Google's 'fastest-growing' moonshot that spun out into an AI earbuds startup aims to ship its first product this year
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-26 | by ( Hugh Langley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Read previewA team inside X, Google's moonshot factory, was working on a revolutionary hearing device, Business Insider reported in 2021. A few months later, Wolverine's lead, Jason Rugolo, spun the project out of Alphabet and formed a startup named Iyo. Rugolo says the company plans to ship its first product by the end of this year. Rugolo told BI he hired Kraft for a stint at Google X to work on what would become Iyo. Iyo isn't the first X project to fly from Alphabet's nest, and it probably won't be the last.

Persons: —, Google's, Jason Rugolo, Rugolo, Iyo, Lockheed Martin, Sergey Brin, Noah Kraft, Kraft, we're, X Organizations: Service, Business, Lockheed, Horizons Ventures, US, ARPA, Research Projects Agency, Energy, Google, Doppler Labs, Spotify, TED, Wolverine, BI

☆ This is what it looks like when Google dances
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-25 | by ( Hugh Langley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Alphabet reports Q1 earnings surpassing estimates with a 15% year-on-year revenue increase. Google has made significant strides in AI, countering perceptions of falling behind in the field. Parent company Alphabet reported blockbuster Q1 earnings on Thursday that blew past analyst estimates. A 15% revenue bump year over year sent stocks soaring. "This is a new Google," Wedbush analyst Dan Ives said on CNBC.

Persons: —, Satya Nadella, Dan Ives Organizations: Google, Service, CNBC

☆ Google just made a huge company shakeup. Here's who's gaining power.
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-18 | by ( Hugh Langley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Google is merging more parts of the company in an effort to move faster in AI. Google's DeepMind chief has gained more power, while the head of Pixel will also oversee Android. The changes put more firepower behind some key Google products, and could help it launch faster. CEO Sundar Pichai announced a series of re-orgs in a memo to staff on Thursday, and — surprise, surprise — Google says it's all happening because of artificial intelligence. Pichai said the changes, which include merging different parts of the company, would help Google "simplify decisions" and move faster.

Persons: Google's, —, Sundar Pichai, Pichai Organizations: Google, Service, Research, Business

☆ It's not just you: Reddit is taking over Google
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-17 | by ( Hugh Langley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

In February, Google and Reddit announced a blockbuster deal that would let Google train its AI models on Reddit content. Google said the deal, reportedly worth $60 million, would "facilitate more content-forward displays of Reddit information," leading to some speculation that Google promised Reddit better visibility in exchange for the valuable training data. Per Sistrix data, Reddit is now as visible in top Google Search results as Instagram. Google CEO Sundar Pichai on stage at Google IO 2023 JOSH EDELSON/GETTYGoogle's Reddit deal and its endorsement of Reddit content in Search show how much it sees Reddit as a crucial part of the future of search. AdvertisementYouTube already has heaps of videos offering advice on hijacking Reddit to rise to the top of Google Search.

Persons: —, Semrush, Reddit, It's, Steve Paine, Paine, we've, Danny Sullivan, Prabhakar Raghavan, Sundar Pichai, JOSH EDELSON, Aleyda Solis, Orainti, Glen Allsopp, Solis, Lily Ray, Ray, Perplexity, Steve Huffman Greg Doherty, Sistrix's Paine, Natalie Slater Organizations: Service, Google, Business, Sistrix, YouTube, Amazon, LinkedIn, Getty Locations: SEOs, Reddit, TikTok

☆ Google lays off more employees and moves some roles to other countries
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-17 | by ( Hugh Langley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Several teams across Google's finance and real estate units have been affected, according to two current employees, who said staff had been informed of the cuts this week. One said that the affected teams in finance include Google's Treasury, Business Services, and Revenue Cash Operations teams. AdvertisementA Google spokesperson confirmed the cuts but declined to elaborate on the number of affected staff. "As we've said, we're responsibly investing in our company's biggest priorities and the significant opportunities ahead," said a Google spokesperson. They said that impacted employees could apply for open roles inside Google.

Persons: —, Ruth Porat, we've, Sundar Pichai Organizations: Service, Google's Treasury, Business Services, Cash, Business, Google, BI Locations: Bangalore, Mexico City, Dublin, India, Atlanta

☆ Microsoft just set the stage for an all-out AI talent war with Google
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-08 | by ( Hugh Langley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

AdvertisementMicrosoft is opening a new artificial-intelligence unit in London, putting itself firmly on the turf of its biggest AI rival: Google DeepMind. In the battle for top AI talent, a bigger London presence could be a savvy move for Microsoft. Related storiesLast year, in response to increased pressure from rivals such as OpenAI, Google merged DeepMind with its central AI unit Brain, forming the new Google DeepMind. Meta itself recently lost three top AI employees, while Google has lost a steady stream of employees to OpenAI over the past year. As the Big Tech AI arms race for talent continues to heat up, Google may have to work even harder to stem the bleeding.

Persons: —, Mustafa Suleyman, Suleyman, Jordan Huffman, It's, OpenAI's, Alex Libre, BI's Aaron Mok, Sergey Brin, OpenAI, Mustafa Suleyman's Organizations: Microsoft, Google, Service, Gemini, Meta, who's, Big Tech Locations: London

☆ Alphabet's Verily lays off employees working in one of its science groups
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-22 | by ( Hugh Langley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Verily, the life sciences group owned by Alphabet, laid off staff this week as part of a restructuring in its molecular sciences group, Business Insider has learned. Verily spokesperson Steven Cooper confirmed the cuts in an email to BI, stating that the affected employees worked on Verily's Immune Profiler project, which studies the human immune system for improving disease management. He declined to share the exact number of employees cut, but one source familiar with the situation said 35-40 people were affected. Verily is in the process of separating from Alphabet's infrastructure, part of a project named Flywheel that BI first reported on in 2021. It has set the end of 2024 as the deadline for detachment, a person familiar with the project told BI.

Persons: Verily, Steven Cooper, Cooper, Stephen Gillett, Andy Conrad, Amy Abernethy, Stat, Myoung Cha Organizations: Business, Apple Health

☆ AI Is Upending Google's Search Business. a Lady Gaga Query Shows How.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-19 | by ( Kali Hays | Hugh Langley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +16 min

Search versus SGESince December, Business Insider has plugged the same queries into Google's traditional search engine and its generative AI version to see how information is presented differently. Mark Mahaney, a top internet analyst at ISI Evercore, has been testing SGE alongside generative AI rivals like Perplexity and OpenAI's ChatGPT. Ray has spotted answers in SGE results that are not sourced from websites that rank in the top 100 positions for that query in traditional Search results. Neither query produced any sort of generative AI response — although a search for "common cold" did. They've already got billions of people using Chrome and using Google search," Shmulik told BI.

Persons: It's, Mark Mahaney, Mahaney, SGE, Adweek, Alan Antin, Google's SGE, Gaga's, Gaga, Tiffany, Kali Hays, Google's, Sundar Pichai, Lily Ray, Ray, Mark Shmulik, Bernstein, Susan Orlean, Evercore's Mahoney, we're, Bernstein's, Shmulik, he's, ChatGPT Organizations: Google, Business, Microsoft, Gartner, ISI, New York Magazine, BI, GitHub, LinkedIn, SGE, Bing Locations: SGE, OpenAI

☆ Celebrities have scored free food, sometimes for life, from places like Dunkin', McDonald's, and more. Here's how.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-17 | by ( Sarah Jackson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Brands like Chipotle frequently give celebrities and other influential figures passes for free food, hoping they'll post about it and promote the brand to their millions of followers. McDonald'sMcDonald's has reportedly issued free food cards at the franchisee and corporate level. AdvertisementBerkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett has said he has a McDonald's card good for free food in his hometown of Omaha, Nebraska. AdvertisementBill Gates' McDonald's Gold Card reportedly entitles him to free food for life at any location. Burger KingBurger King started giving celebrities cards for a lifetime of free food in 2006 and had given out around a dozen by 2008, according to Ad Age.

Persons: —, Olivia Rodrigo, Chipotle, Here's, McDonald's McDonald's, Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffett, Buffett, Rob Lowe, Lowe, David Peterson, McDonald's, Sen, Mitt Romney, Romney, George Romney, Ray Kroc, Bill Gates, Stephanie Perdue, Perdue, Chris Nikic, Roy Murray, Tony Hawk, Big Sean, Addison Rae, Abby Wambach, Candice Beck, Ozzy Osbourne, Burger, Burger King Burger King, Jennifer Hudson, Hugh Laurie, didn't, George Lucas, Robert Downey Jr, Jay Leno, Burger King, Ed Sheeran, Jack Whitehall, Nando's, Dunkin, Novak, DunKing Ben Affleck, that's Organizations: Service, Business, Berkshire, Wall Street, Brand, Burger King, Ad, BK Locations: Omaha , Nebraska, Santa Barbara, Goleta , California, Santa, Chipotle, Burger

☆ Aid Reaches Northern Gaza as Israel and Hamas Consider Truce Talks
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-17 | by ( March | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +3 min

By Nidal al-MughrabiCAIRO (Reuters) - Trucks of flour have reached northern Gaza for distribution to areas that have had no aid in four months, Palestinian media reported on Sunday, with famine looming in the enclave and truce talks between Israel and Hamas due to resume in Qatar. A Hamas source said the route was secured by Hamas security personnel. War in Israel and Gaza View All 222 ImagesAid agencies have warned that pockets of Gaza already face famine, with hospitals in the north reporting children dying of malnutrition and dehydration. Hamas killed around 1,200 people in its attack and seized 253 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. Israel's military campaign in Gaza has now killed more than 31,500 Palestinians according to health authorities in Hamas-run Gaza.

Persons: Nidal, Beit Hanoun, Israel's, Benjamin Netanyahu's, Olaf Scholz, King Abdullah, Netanyahu, Nidal al, Angus McDowall, Hugh Lawson Organizations: Hamas, Reuters, Qatari, Sunday, Palestinian Locations: CAIRO, Gaza, Israel, Qatar, Gaza City, Beit Lahiya, Israeli, Deir al, Rafah, Egypt, Jordan, QATAR, Doha

☆ Top websites block Google from training AI models on their data. Nowhere near as much as OpenAI, though.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-14 | by ( Hugh Langley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Google launched a new tool that lets publishers opt out of training Google's AI models. It turns out that all this content has been stored in datasets that are the foundation for training powerful AI models, including those from OpenAI, Google, Meta, and others. Part of Google's response has been to launch a new tool that lets websites block the company from using their content for training AI models. BI asked Originality.ai CEO Jonathan Gillham why Google-Extended is being used less than other AI training data-blockers. It's unclear if the company will launch this fully in the future, or how much different it will be from the traditional Google search engine.

Persons: —, There's, Robots.txt, Jonathan Gillham, Gillham, Axel Springer Organizations: Google, Service, New York Times, CNN, BBC, Business Locations: Chicago

☆ It might be time to rethink the smartphone — for real this time
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-14 | by ( Hugh Langley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Why do phones need apps? At this year's Mobile World Congress, the future of the smartphone and how we connect were firmly under the microscope. Deutsche Telekom and Brain.ai demoed one such instance at MWC: a smartphone with no apps. It's just an idea for now, but it's prompting an interesting question: Why assume the smartphone of the future has apps at all? But the smartphone industry is slumping, and there's a "need to invigorate the upgrade cycle," Milanesi told BI.

Persons: —, Sam Altman, There's, Altman, Jony, Meta's Mark Zuckerberg, Carolina Milanesi, Milanesi, Tom Butler, I'm, Butler, Lenovo's Butler, it's Organizations: Service, Congress, MWC, Las, CES, Deutsche Telekom, Brain.ai, Qualcomm, Bloomberg Locations: Carolina, PAU, AFP

☆ Google employees just learned they're getting smaller pay bumps this year
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-14 | by ( Hugh Langley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Googlers are finding out how much of a pay bump they're getting this year. AdvertisementIt's the time of year when Google employees discover how much of a pay bump they're getting. Google has reduced the size of the compensation packages it's handing out to staff this year, with some employees even seeing a reduction in their overall pay, they learned this month. Compensation packages are made up of base salary, bonuses, and equity grants. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers.

Persons: — Organizations: Service, Google, Business

☆ New AI and 5G advancements will usher in the era of edge computing on smartphones, autonomous cars, and more
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-11 | by ( Hugh Langley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The AI boom is breathing life into edge computing, which moves data processing away from the cloud. Artificial intelligence is driving us into the era of edge computing — two words you should expect to hear more in the coming months and years. Now they're expanding to edge computing, which refers to moving more of the computation closer to the user (the "edge" of the network). Amazon had eyed edge computing as a billion-dollar business, Business Insider previously reported. Jillian Kaplan, the head of global 5G at Dell, said during an MWC panel that edge computing will be a "huge energy saver."

Persons: —, Jim Poole, Poole, Aly Song, MediaTek, Tom Butler, I'm, Jillian Kaplan, Kaplan Organizations: Service, Tech, 5G, Business, Mobile, Congress, MWC, China, Lenovo, Google, Dell Locations: Barcelona, Equinix, Shanghai

☆ Meta's Facebook Messenger hit with layoffs amid ongoing 'efficiency' push
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-06 | by ( Kali Hays | Hugh Langley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Meta's ongoing efficiency drive has resulted in another round of layoffs. Messenger, the popular Facebook app, was hit this week with cuts. Messenger, the popular direct messaging app within Facebook, was hit with a round of layoffs this week, according to two people familiar with the company. The cuts at Messenger come after a similar layoff affected some employees working at Instagram, as Business Insider reported. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers.

Persons: —, Instagram, Messenger Organizations: Service, Meta, Facebook, Business, BI Locations: Instagram, Meta

☆ There are growing calls for Google CEO Sundar Pichai to step down
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-01 | by ( Hugh Langley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The slip-up was so bad it sent the company's stock tumbling, and had CEO Sundar Pichai address the troops, calling the situation "completely unacceptable." The debacle has strengthened the narrative that Google is suddenly behind in the AI race, and now there's a growing chorus of voices calling for CEO Sundar Pichai to be replaced. Pichai, who was appointed CEO of Google in 2015, and Alphabet in 2019, has proven a strong peace-time CEO for the company. He's been an effective and steady hand who protects Google's prized search business and deals diplomatically with regulators. Responding to a tweet by Color Health CEO Othman Laraki, who said Google as facing an "unsolvable problem," Mayer defended Google somewhat.

Persons: —, Sundar Pichai, Ben Thompson, Googlers, Mark Shmulik, chatbot, He's, Pichai, Aravind Srinivas, Sundar, Srinivas, Marissa, Marissa Mayer, Othman Laraki, Mayer, They've, Hugh Langley Organizations: Service, Google, Business, Color, Gartner Locations: Silicon Valley

☆ How Google lost its way
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-29 | by ( Hugh Langley | Lara O'Reilly | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +17 min

Just two months after Google launched Gemini, its flashy new AI model, the company revealed that it had already built a better version. AdvertisementThen, days later, Google scrambled to explain why its image generation tool spit out racially inaccurate depictions of historical figures. Users have long bemoaned — and researchers recently found — a decline in the quality of Google Search results. The fact that Google is not far and away the self-driving-car leader, it's, like, a total joke," the former Google director said, adding that the problem of Google's lost supremacy is "maybe impossible to solve, frankly." Google now is reminiscent of the Steve Ballmer-era Microsoft, which missed the smartphone, search, and cloud waves and was overtaken by Apple, Google, and Amazon.

Persons: OpenAI, Sora, Sam Altman, Sundar Pichai's, Pichai, —, Larry Page, Sergey Brin, Lea Suzuki, Getty Brin, Page, Google, Googlers, Axel Springer, Diane von Furstenberg, Giovanni Giannoni, Michael Avrukin, Vuk Valcic, wouldn't, Patrick Mork, Eric Lehman, Lehman, ChatGPT, Caesar Sengupta, Sengupta, Alexa, Google's, Steve Ballmer, Satya Nadella, Hugh Langley, Lara O'Reilly Organizations: Google, Hollywood, Industry, San Francisco Chronicle, Business, Penske Media, Microsoft, Amazon, The New York Times, Oracle, YouTube, Apple, IBM, Meta Locations: Silicon Valley, Silicon, —

Search resuls for: "Hugh L"

25 mentions found