Google has rehired AI genius, Noam Shazeer for a massive amount, The Wall Street Journal reported. Shazeer had left Google in 2021 after 21 years. Shazeer went on to co-found Character.AI, an AI startup.

Google claimed the $2.7 billion payment was primarily for licensing Character.AI’s technology. However, Wall Street Journal reported that the deal was largely to rehire Shazeer. According to media reports, the licensing deal allows Google to immediately access Character.AI’s intellectual property without having to wait for the regulatory approval.

Shazeer’s Relationship With Google

Shazeer joined Google in the year 2000. Shazeer was reportedly among the company’s first few hundred employees. In 2017, Shazeer with his colleague Daniel De Freitas developed a chatbot named Meena. Meena was designed to engage in complex conversations across a range of topics. Shazeer at that time predicted that Meena could replace Google’s search engine and produce trillions of dollars in revenue. However, Google’s leadership opt not to release Meena to the public. Shazeer was triggered. He with his colleague Daniel De Freitas left the company in 2021 to found Character.AI. Shazeer also co-authored a 2017 research paper ‘Attention is All You Need’ that paved the way for today’s generative AI models.

Shazeer’s Re-entry In Google

Shazeer’s return is being viewed as the primary reason behind the acquisition of Character.AI by the company. He is now reportedly now a Vice-President in Google. According to report, he will spearhead the development of company’s next-generation AI project, Gemini.

The Debate

Shazeer’s return after spending a massive amount by the company triggers a new debate. It is being argued that weather the tech giants are overspending in the race of developing cutting-edge AI, said the report. Many believe that cutting-edge AI would define the future of computing.

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