Is Google Paying AI Staff Not to Leave?
Reports suggest that Google is allegedly paying some AI staff to do nothing for a year.
Google is allegedly paying some AI staff to do nothing for a year rather than join rivals in a bid to retain top AI talent, a tough ask considering the cutthroat competition between Google, OpenAI, and other heavyweights.
Talent Retention
Google’s AI division, DeepMind, has resorted to using “aggressive” noncompete agreements for some AI staff in the U.K. that bar them from working for competitors for up to a year, Business Insider reports.
Some are paid during this time, in what amounts to a lengthy stretch of PTO. But the practice can make researchers feel left out of the quick pace of AI progress, reported BI. In the United States, the FTC banned most noncompetes last year, but that doesn’t apply to DeepMind’s London headquarters.
