In the note, shared internally and viewed by the New York Times, Brin urges staff working on Google’s Gemini AI projects to put in long hours to help the company lead the race in artificial general intelligence (AGI).
Some have praised Brin’s commitment to pushing the company’s success, but others argue that his approach reflects an outdated and harmful mindset.
“The hustle-centric 60-hour week isn’t productivity—it’s burnout waiting to happen,” wrote workplace mental health educator Catherine Eadie in a post shared by LinkedIn’s news editors.
Others said they feel that hard work is essential for success, with a COO of a business analytics business writing, “Brin is just being honest—successful people have always put in long hours."
I’d work work 60 hours a week if I was going to get paid the millions they make but I’m not doing that work just to make someone else rich.
It’s beyond just making millions for someone else, it’s about literally building their replacements.
They want an AGI that will do all the work “for free” and they don’t have to worry about pesky human workers who want things like “human rights” anymore.
Most big players in the AI field have already said that they are not going to reach the goals they set for environmental impact by 2030. The “for free” part simply means that Earth will become unlivable for human beings sooner
Yep, just plug 'em in and they’ll work 24x7x52 without a complaint. That’s the goal.
“The race” to AGI is just the race to unemployment and complete subservience to the TechBro super-rich and their ilk.
Let’s see, can’t grow your own food, can’t make your own clothes, can’t fix your own home, have to pay property taxes no matter what, have to pay for health insurance or you die…
They have a lot of people between a rock and a hard place. Might even be all of us.