Google is pushing its employees to work 60 hours a week, calling it the “sweet spot of productivity” in its race to develop artificial general intelligence or AGI. According to internal memos from Google co-founder Sergey Brin, obtained by The New York Times, the company is accelerating efforts to achieve AGI — an advanced form of AI capable of performing tasks as flexibly and effectively as a human.
Google’s effort to create AGI is leading to culture changes for Google employees. In his memo, Brin emphasized that the company must “turbocharge” its efforts, signaling a shift in workplace expectations.
This cultural shift aligns with broader industry trends, as other generative AI companies are also determined to transform their chatbot products into AGI. OpenAI is dedicated to the safe creation of AGI, which it now defines as any system that generates $100 billion in profits. Chinese retail giant Alibaba Group Holding declared AGI a top priority earlier this month.
Brin’s vision: The final race to AGI
“Competition has accelerated immensely and the final race to A.G.I. is afoot,” Brin wrote. “I think we have all the ingredients to win this race, but we are going to have to turbocharge our efforts.”
In June 2024, Google’s DeepMind put out a paper defining “progress on the path to AGI.” They defined products like ChatGPT and Gemini as “emerging AGI” as opposed to “competent AGI,” which has not yet been achieved. “Competent AGI” would test among the 50th percentile of skilled adults in tasks like coding.
60-hour work week and Google’s office mandates
Google’s official policy requires employees to work in the office three days a week. For Brin, turbocharging work looks like “being in the office at least every weekday,” according to The New York Times report. For Googlers working directly on bringing Gemini AI models and apps to life, “60 hours a week is the sweet spot of productivity,” Brin said.
“A number of folks work less than 60 hours and a small number put in the bare minimum to get by,” Brin wrote. “This last group is not only unproductive but also can be highly demoralizing to everyone else.”
Return-to-office policies have been a contentious effort to bring business back to a pre-pandemic status quo. Some argue that in-office work is more productive, while others argue the same for remote work that eliminates costly commutes and office space.
However, Brin recommended employees work no more than 60 hours per week to avoid burnout. In the U.S., federal law mandates overtime pay for any work exceeding 40 hours per week.
Using Gemini for coding in order to train the AI
Beyond extended work hours, Brin also urged employees to use Google’s own Gemini AI to enhance productivity and indirectly train the AI model. He suggested that using the chatbot for coding could improve its capabilities, potentially advancing Google’s path to AGI.
On February 25, Google inked a deal with Salesforce to use Salesforce AI agents on Google Cloud and integrate Gemini into the AI marketplace Agentforce.