Google’s Sergey Brin Urges Workers to the Office ‘at Least’ Every Weekday

Since the debut of ChatGPT in 2022 sparked an A.I. revolution in Silicon Valley, Google has been working to reclaim its position as a leader in artificial intelligence.

On Wednesday, Sergey Brin, Google’s co-founder, stated that the company could lead the development of artificial general intelligence (AGI)—where machines either match or surpass human intelligence—if employees put in more effort.

In an internal memo viewed by The New York Times, Brin suggested that “working in the office at least every weekday” could be crucial for progress. He further emphasized that “60 hours a week is the sweet spot for productivity,” addressing employees working on Google’s A.I. models and apps under the Gemini project.

Although this memo doesn’t alter Google’s official return-to-office policy, which mandates at least three days a week in the office, it underscored Brin’s belief that AGI could be within reach. He also detailed his thoughts on how Google could make that technological leap.

“Competition has intensified significantly, and the final sprint to AGI is underway,” he wrote. “I believe we have all the necessary ingredients to win this race, but it will require a significant acceleration in our efforts.”

Brin also emphasized the importance of Google employees leveraging more of its own A.I. for coding, asserting that self-improvement of A.I. would be key to achieving AGI. He called on those working on Gemini to become “the world’s most efficient coders and A.I. scientists by utilizing our own A.I.”

Many other companies, including Amazon, have also mandated a return to the office in order to boost productivity. In September, Amazon announced that its corporate employees would be required to work in-office five days a week starting in 2025, with other companies like AT&T, JPMorgan Chase, and Goldman Sachs also reversing hybrid-work models.

Brin’s return to Google followed the launch of ChatGPT, according to The Times, as the company struggled to maintain its dominance in A.I. (Google had pioneered many technologies that enabled chatbots like ChatGPT to generate text, including poetry and code.) Since his return, Brin has spent significant time with the company’s A.I. experts, particularly in the Google DeepMind division, even personally submitting code requests.

In the two years since, Google has reorganized its business, rebranded its A.I., and integrated the technology into its popular apps in an effort to compete with OpenAI, Microsoft, Meta, and others.

Google has been releasing A.I. updates at a rapid pace, recently expanding the availability of its Gemini 2.0 models to users of the chatbot app. However, Brin cautioned employees against exceeding 60 hours of work per week, as it could lead to burnout, and criticized those who haven’t been contributing enough.

“A number of people work fewer than 60 hours, and a small group do only the bare minimum,” he wrote. “This latter group is not just unproductive but can be demoralizing to others.”