A Bard song for Google's slow culture

Google is urgently working on its AI chatbot Bard to compete with ChatGPT. This is shaking up Google's historically slow culture.

What's going on here?

Google has adopted a "wartime" mentality to expedite Bard, its ChatGPT competitor. Teams that work on Bard are moving much faster than other Google teams.

What does this mean?

The Bard team shortcuts legal reviews and executes projects in days or weeks rather than months. This startles some employees but energizes others seeking to make their mark on cutting-edge AI. Bard's leader Sissie Hsiao conveys urgency, asking about work-life balance and suggesting those concerned should transfer off her team.

Hsiao runs Bard like a lean startup using "pods" - small groups working in parallel on different features. She and other execs closely monitor pods in regular reviews. Hsiao is a heavyweight at Google known for monetizing mobile apps. So she likely aims to eventually bring profit from Bard.

Why should I care?

Google is laser-focused on not falling behind in AI. This intense push suggests chatbots like Bard are viewed as existentially important to Google's future. The company is uncharacteristically willing to ruffle feathers to build cutting-edge AI quickly.

Google is marshalling immense resources behind Bard. With its best talent on the case, Bard could evolve from joke to juggernaut practically overnight. And let’s not forget it’s still free.