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> I’m sure you will have lots of questions about what this new unit will look like for you. Can any HN Googlers comment on what this announcement means? Is thi

> I’m sure you will have lots of questions about what this new unit will look like for you. Can any HN Googlers comment on what this announcement means? Is this announcement just a PR move to get people to pay attention to upcoming announcements? Or does it actually have deeper impact to the way Google functions with internal teams?

ipnon 3y ago
DeepMind is going to stop making models to do MineCraft speedruns, and instead start making models to improve search results and ad click through rates.
- simple10 3y ago
  Lol. Makes sense. Any idea why they're queuing this up for a multiple announcement PR stunt? Seems a bit out of character for Google to tease out announcements like this. My guess is they have a bigger announcement coming next week. Otherwise, it seems like a bad PR move... it positions Google as playing catchup in AI... which is accurate, but strange PR.
  - dougmwne 3y ago
    PR blitz because it's going to look good to investors. Google is killing the vanity projects and moonshots and rolling those resources into teams that aim to launch products in the next 6-12 months.
- okdood64 3y ago
  Bingo. This feels like Google is _trying to get serious_ about leveraging DeepMind to create better products right now (and generate more revenue) instead of: "Look at this robot play soccer. Cool, huh?"
QuercusMax 3y ago
I'm a Googler in the Research PA (Health AI), and as far as I can tell this will have ~0 impact on my life. Jeff Dean gave himself a promotion and doesn't want to run an org any more; aside from that, :shrug:?
- simple10 3y ago
  Ah. Maybe this is just PR cover to ease external fears that DeepMind team will leave Google.
- DannyBee 3y ago
  Jeff never really wanted to run orgs anyway, so that's not any different either!
  - usrnm 3y ago
    People who don't want to run an org just don't run one. It's not like someone forced him to take all that money
    - DannyBee 3y ago
      ??? It's never that simple, and he didn't get more money for running the org?
- ra7 3y ago
  Is Jeff Dean not running this new org? What is his new role now?
  - QuercusMax 3y ago
    Chief Scientist, apparently.
DataJunkie 3y ago
Googler here, opinion my own. In some sense, it's PR, but not in the typical gimmicky way. Alphabet has had DeepMind for a while, and at this point with all of the competition in AI, it doesn't make sense to keep DeepMind at arm's length. I personally think it's a good move and gives me more confidence, but it doesn't affect me directly. I do worry what redundancies this causes with Brain and Research though.

ipnon 3y ago

DeepMind is going to stop making models to do MineCraft speedruns, and instead start making models to improve search results and ad click through rates.

simple10 3y ago
Lol. Makes sense. Any idea why they're queuing this up for a multiple announcement PR stunt? Seems a bit out of character for Google to tease out announcements like this. My guess is they have a bigger announcement coming next week. Otherwise, it seems like a bad PR move... it positions Google as playing catchup in AI... which is accurate, but strange PR.
- dougmwne 3y ago
  PR blitz because it's going to look good to investors. Google is killing the vanity projects and moonshots and rolling those resources into teams that aim to launch products in the next 6-12 months.
okdood64 3y ago
Bingo. This feels like Google is _trying to get serious_ about leveraging DeepMind to create better products right now (and generate more revenue) instead of: "Look at this robot play soccer. Cool, huh?"

QuercusMax 3y ago

I'm a Googler in the Research PA (Health AI), and as far as I can tell this will have ~0 impact on my life. Jeff Dean gave himself a promotion and doesn't want to run an org any more; aside from that, :shrug:?

simple10 3y ago
Ah. Maybe this is just PR cover to ease external fears that DeepMind team will leave Google.
DannyBee 3y ago
Jeff never really wanted to run orgs anyway, so that's not any different either!
- usrnm 3y ago
  People who don't want to run an org just don't run one. It's not like someone forced him to take all that money
  - DannyBee 3y ago
    ??? It's never that simple, and he didn't get more money for running the org?
ra7 3y ago
Is Jeff Dean not running this new org? What is his new role now?
- QuercusMax 3y ago
  Chief Scientist, apparently.

DataJunkie 3y ago

Googler here, opinion my own. In some sense, it's PR, but not in the typical gimmicky way. Alphabet has had DeepMind for a while, and at this point with all of the competition in AI, it doesn't make sense to keep DeepMind at arm's length. I personally think it's a good move and gives me more confidence, but it doesn't affect me directly. I do worry what redundancies this causes with Brain and Research though.