Google's AI Crisis: Co-Founder Returns Amid ChatGPT Pressure

WhenOpenAIlaunched ChatGPT in late 2022, it triggered a crisis at Google. Just three weeks after ChatGPT's arrival, Google declared a company-wide “Code Red”, a report by New York Times said at that time, adding that the staff were instructed to set aside existing projects and redirect their energy toward fast-tracking new AI products and features.Perhaps the most significant sign of the crisis was the return of Google co-founderSergey Brin. In a recent interview, CEOSundar Pichairecalled that as pressure built, Brin – who had been retired from daily operations for years – began showing up at the office again.By early February 2023, Google had announced Bard, its answer to ChatGPT. However, Bard had not been built in a hurry, and had actually been in development for some time, Fast Company reported.Israel Iran WarUS-Israel-Iran War News Live Updates: Blasts reported near Pakistan embassy in Tehran as Israel launches fresh wave of strikesUS-Iran war: India prepares to re-start LNG buys from Russia; seeks Trump admin waiver, says reportMiddle East crisis: Govt levies export duties on diesel, turbine oil; eyes over Rs 1,500 crore collection in fortnightThe reason it had not been released earlier came down to a concern that has haunted generative AI from the beginning: hallucination, which is a tendency of AI models to confidently produce false or misleading information. Google had held back precisely because of that risk, and Pichai described the decision as “bold but responsible”.‘Bard underperformed’Bard’s initial reception was lukewarm at best. Critics and users alike viewed it as a rushed, underwhelming response to the OpenAI’s ChatGPT.by Taboolaby TaboolaSponsored LinksSponsored LinksPromoted LinksPromoted LinksYou May LikeBengaluru medical college professor served notice for ‘proposing' to MBBS student in classroomWhat began as a bizarre classroom episode has now escalated into a serious criminal case, with police arresting a medical college professor for allegedly proposing to a student during a lecture—an act that sparked outrage, protests, and violence on campus. The accused, identified as Abdul Rehman Sharif, attached to the Department of Microbiology, was arrested late Thursday night. A senior police officer confirmed the arrest, adding that further investigation is underway. The principal of the college, Divakar SV, filed a complaint with the Nelamangala Rural Police Station on Thursday afternoon. The controversy erupted at Sri Siddhartha Institute of Medical Sciences & Research Centre in T Begur near Nelamangala, in Bengaluru Rural district, after videos of the incident—recorded by students—went viral on Thursday. The college is governed by a trust chaired by state home minister G. Parameshwara, according to its website.UndoAfter a year of struggling to build meaningful brand recognition, Google made the decision to scrap the Bard name entirely, relaunching the chatbot as Gemini.But while Bard was stumbling in public, something significant was happening behind the scenes. Larry Page and Sergey Brin, who had both stepped back from day-to-day involvement in the company years earlier, returned as active participants in the effort to accelerate Google’s AI development, the report said.Brin, in particular, threw himself back into the work. He was involved in hiring decisions, code reviews and the granular technical details of model development. For a company's workforce to see the person who built the whole thing roll up his sleeves and get back in the room — that, Pichai says, meant everything.“Having the founder of the company sitting together with your engineers sweating out the details of the model — I can't imagine a more motivating thing for people,” Pichai said. Brin even appeared in a launch video for “Antigravity” – an advanced AI-powered coding tool developed by Google based on Gemini 3.