Google pays $2.7 Billion for Character.AI

AI History

Google's history with AI is marked by internal debates and missed opportunities. Jaeden Schafer highlights the story of Noam Shazeer, an early Google employee who developed a chatbot named Mina in 2017. Shazeer believed Mina could replace Google's search engine, but executives deemed it too risky due to concerns about safety and fairness 1. This decision reflects Google's cautious approach to AI, prioritizing existing revenue streams over disruptive innovation.

Google already had chat GPT way before chat GPT or OpenAI did, but they were just worried about releasing it.

--- Jaeden Schafer

This cautiousness allowed competitors like OpenAI to gain a foothold, challenging Google's dominance in AI 2.

   

Innovator's Conflict

The internal conflict at Google over AI innovations highlights the tension between innovation and revenue protection. Jaeden Schafer explains that Google's reluctance to release advanced AI technologies stemmed from fears of disrupting their lucrative ad revenue model 2. Shazeer's departure in 2021 underscores this conflict, as he left due to Google's refusal to launch his chatbot, Mina 1.

They rolled it out. It was going to have a direct negative impact on their ad revenue.

--- Jaeden Schafer

This scenario exemplifies the classic innovator's dilemma, where established companies hesitate to embrace innovations that could cannibalize their existing business 2.