February 28, 2025 News
Google Co-Founder Pushes Return to Office to Win AGI Race
Google co-founder Sergey Brin has urged employees to return to the office daily, stating that this is necessary for Google to win the AGI race. Brin suggested that 60 hours of work per week is the "sweet spot" for productivity, though this message doesn't represent an official change to Google's current three-day in-office policy.
Skynet Chance (+0.03%): Brin's memo indicates an intensifying competitive pressure to develop AGI quickly, potentially prioritizing speed over safety considerations. The push for a 60-hour workweek culture could reduce the careful deliberation needed for safe AGI development, marginally increasing the risk of control problems.
Skynet Date (-2 days): The aggressive push for office presence and longer working hours signals Google's determination to accelerate its AGI development timeline significantly. Brin's direct involvement and urgency messaging suggest Google is attempting to dramatically compress development timelines in response to competitive pressures.
AGI Progress (+0.04%): Brin's return to Google specifically to focus on AGI and his push for increased work intensity demonstrates a strategic corporate shift toward AGI development. This high-level prioritization will likely result in increased resources and talent focused on advancing Google's AGI capabilities.
AGI Date (-3 days): Google's co-founder explicitly framing workplace policies around winning the "AGI race" signals a major acceleration in development timelines from one of the world's most resourced AI companies. The emphasis on 60-hour workweeks and full office presence indicates an attempt to dramatically compress AGI development schedules.
OpenAI Expands Sora Video Generator to European Markets
OpenAI has made its video generation model Sora available to ChatGPT Plus and Pro subscribers in the European Union, UK, Switzerland, Norway, Liechtenstein, and Iceland. This release comes months after the model's initial unveiling in February 2024, when it was released to subscribers in other regions but notably excluded EU users.
Skynet Chance (+0.03%): The geographical expansion of powerful generative video capabilities slightly increases risk by putting more advanced AI tools in the hands of a larger user base, potentially normalizing synthetic reality creation. However, the impact is modest as this is merely a regional expansion of an existing tool.
Skynet Date (-1 days): The accelerated global rollout of advanced generative media technology slightly compresses timelines for AI development by creating more market pressure for competitive capabilities, though the effect is minimal since this is just a regional expansion.
AGI Progress (+0.01%): While Sora represents impressive generative video capabilities, this news only indicates a geographical expansion rather than a technological advancement, so the impact on overall AGI progress is minimal.
AGI Date (-1 days): The global expansion of advanced AI tools like Sora slightly accelerates the timeline by increasing commercial pressures, user feedback loops, and potential for integration with other AI systems, though the effect is minimal for a regional release of an existing product.