No. of Recommendations: 7
I don't have any great insight to offer, but my thoughts are that Google has been a leader in AI research for decades and they sit in a position of strength. While OpenAI's ChatGPT and Microsoft's integration of it into Bing has certainly caused a splash, I feel like Google will be able to counter effectively in the coming years.
Given ChatGPT's proclivity to make up stuff, I certainly wouldn't embrace it as a replacement for Google, though I do see it's utility for some things.
I have been concerned by a couple of stories I read in the last couple months by former Google employees talking about the company becoming sclerotic with its size and wealth effectively discouraging innovation and productivity. They said it's hardly the hotbed of innovation it once was, with employees stultified by bureaucracy and caution. Then I read a story about how that was endemic across big tech, with coders effectively discouraged from high productivity because of everyone acting to protect their salaries and turf by building in ridiculous timelines with countless meetings for relatively small amounts of work.
I don't really know what to think. It sounds ripe for smaller companies to disrupt, but I think that's kinda always been the case. I know Google has an enviable position, immensely deep pockets, enormous stockpile of talent and intellectual property, but it sounds like they seriously need to streamline the work processes, work to upgrade their internal tech work environment, and empower employees to be more productive.
I invested in Google about a year ago with a cost basis slightly below current stock price on the basis of their position and earning power. It seemed like it would be hard for them to screw things up so fast that the purchase would be bad, and I don't see the emergence of ChatGPT and other AI as changing that investment thesis at these prices.
