Eric Schmidt’s Stanford Talk Recap (Now Deleted)

Eric Schmidt was Google’s CEO from 2001 to 2011, directing the company through one of its fastest-growing phases. Highly respected in the tech community, his lectures and talks are always closely followed.

Recently, he gave a talk at Stanford University, where he shared his unfiltered views on the current state of leading U.S. companies regarding AI development.

The talk quickly garnered attention in the tech community, especially after he made statements like Google losing ground due to its focus on work-life balance and even suggesting "stealing" data like TikTok.

This attention led to Stanford removing the video from their channel within 24 hours of posting (specific reason unknown), But don’t worry, we have a short recap of the hour-long talk.

Eric talked about the following topics:

• Google's AI Struggles: Schmidt believes Google is losing in AI because it prioritizes work-life balance too much. He questioned how they could compete with companies like OpenAI or Anthropic when their teams only show up one day a week.

• Respect for Musk and TSMC: Schmidt respects Elon Musk and TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company) for their hard-driving work culture. He noted that TSMC even makes physics PhDs work on factory floors in their first year, something unimaginable for American PhDs.

• Regrets: Schmidt admitted he made some bad calls, such as dismissing NVIDIA’s CUDA, which has become a crucial tool for AI models. No other chips can compete with it now.

• Surprises: He was shocked when Microsoft teamed up with OpenAI, thinking they were too small to matter. He also criticized Apple for its laid-back approach to AI.

• Cheeky Comment on TikTok: Schmidt joked that if you’re starting a business, you should "steal" whatever you can, like music, because if you become successful, you can afford the best lawyers to cover your tracks.

• OpenAI's Stargate: He mentioned that OpenAI’s Stargate might cost much more than expected—possibly $300 billion instead of $100 billion. Schmidt suggested the U.S. should either partner with Canada for hydropower and cheap labor or with Arab nations for funding.

• Europe's Tech Innovation: Schmidt sees Europe as a lost cause for tech innovation, blaming Brussels for killing opportunities. He sees some hope in France but not much elsewhere. He also believes the U.S. has lost China as an ally, with India now the most important partner.

• Open-Source AI: Schmidt is not optimistic about open-source AI, saying it’s too expensive to manage. Even Mistral, a French company he’s invested in, is moving towards closed-source.

• AI's Impact: He believes AI will widen the gap between the rich and the poor, benefiting strong countries while leaving others behind.

• Manufacturing Jobs: Schmidt warned that AI chips won’t bring back manufacturing jobs, as factories are mostly automated now. Apple’s move to produce MacBooks in Texas isn’t about cheap labor but about requiring minimal labor.

• AI's Potential: Finally, Schmidt compared AI to the early days of electricity, saying it has huge potential but will take time and significant organizational innovation to realize its full benefits. Right now, we’re just picking the low-hanging fruit.

Eric Schmidt was quick to walk back comments criticizing his old company’s remote-work policy.

“I misspoke about Google and their work hours,” Schmidt told the Wall Street Journal. “I regret my error.”

Nevertheless, it's good to see prominent tech figures give such unfiltered talks.