AI Tools Come With Plenty of Risks and Rewards for Employees

But first, talk to me, Goose.

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The big story

AI assistance

Google employees are getting an AI-powered wingman in the company’s bid to improve efficiency. 

The tech giant quietly launched an internal AI model dubbed “Goose” to help Googlers code faster, according to internal documents reviewed by Business Insider’s Hugh Langley. 

(It’s unclear if the model’s name is an homage to Tom Cruise’s copilot in “Top Gun,” but Silicon Valley often thinks of AI tools that work alongside humans as “copilots.”)

Goose can answer questions about Google’s tech and write and edit code, according to an internal summary of the model. More broadly, it’s part of the company’s strategy to “bring AI to every stage of the product development process,” per one internal doc. 

Google’s not the only tech giant looking to give its developers an AI-powered leg up. Microsoft has also rolled out Copilot, its generative AI assistant built in partnership with OpenAI, to internal teams. 

Tech companies have tested inventions on their own employees for years in a process known as “dogfooding,” writes BI’s Alistair Barr. 

But the adoption of Copilot externally has reportedly been a bit of a mixed bag, with some customers unhappy that an expensive tool ($30 per person) wasn’t always reliable or accurate.

Goose raises a question workers must consider with the rise of AI tools: Am I training my replacement?

Google has been adamant that AI won’t take away employees’ jobs. But an internal document also describes Goose as “trained on the sum total of 25 years of engineering expertise.”

Google and the rest of Big Tech are also in the middle of an efficiency kick to cut costs and streamline work. Subbing out humans for machines seems to fall in that camp. 

At the same time, almost every job has menial tasks we all wish we could avoid. AI tools solve those issues, letting workers focus on where they add the most value. (At least, that’s the idea.)

That puts workers in a difficult situation. You don’t want to be the turkey setting the Thanksgiving dinner table. But skirting AI altogether means you risk being left behind by the colleagues who are willing to dive in. 

Further complicating things is the internal culture war taking place at Google. 

Waves of layoffs over the past year-plus have left some employees feeling the tech giant’s famous culture has deteriorated as it looks to appease Wall Street.

Introducing a tool that speaks to investors’ interest in efficiency will likely be viewed skeptically by some Googlers — and could push them to fight back even harder.

3 things in markets

1. The case for the good times to keep rolling in the stock market. Monetizing AI and the Fed only briefly delaying interest rate cuts could keep the rally going, according to UBS. The bank also outlined 30 stocks with strong earnings momentum that are expected to outperform the market even if rate cuts don’t materialize soon.

2. Wall Street’s top cop warned companies about jumping on the AI bandwagon. SEC chairman Gary Gensler said companies should be clear about how the tech benefits them. Falsely claiming to use AI models, known as “AI washing,” could be a breach of securities laws, he added. 

3. We’re still a long way from the bubble popping. The S&P 500 would need to rise another 25% to reach the levels of “irrational exuberance” that fueled the ’90s tech bubble, according to Société Générale.

3 things in tech

1. An AI app wave is on the horizon. That’s according to Elad Gil, Silicon Valley’s biggest solo capitalist. Gil told BI that 2024 will be the year that a wave of entrepreneurs wowed by ChatGPT decide to quit their jobs and launch AI startups of their own.

2. Microsoft is going to let you play Xbox games on rival consoles. Some games that were once exclusive to Xbox will reportedly become available on Sony’s PS5 and Nintendo’s Switch. The move is a sign Microsoft knows it’s lost the console wars.

3. Uber finally turned a profit, but some drivers say they aren’t feeling the benefits. Thousands went on strike on Wednesday over concerns they’re making less money on the ride-hailing platform. While Uber posted an annual operating profit for the first time ever in 2023, drivers’ average monthly gross earnings fell 17%, according to data from Gridwise Analytics.

3 things in business

1. Working from home is riskier than ever. As layoffs are piling up, a growing number of companies are telling remote workers they’re more likely to get the ax. On the flip side, employees disillusioned with strict RTO mandates may present an opportunity for startups and small businesses to scoop up talent.

2. China is headed for an unhappy Year of the Dragon. Workers return from a public holiday break at the end of this week, but analysts aren’t feeling any more cheerful about the world’s second-largest economy. Japanese bank Nomura warns that a sharp slowdown in consumer spending after the Lunar New Year break is likely to further drag on China’s growth.

3. Young homebuyers are about to regain leverage over their parents’ generation. Meredith Whitney, the “Oracle of Wall Street,” warned of a financial crisis back in 2007. Now, she says the housing market will soon be upended.

In other news

What’s happening today

• Today’s earnings: Coinbase, DoorDash, and other companies are reporting.

• Former President Donald Trump will be in court for a hearing on charges of falsifying business records for “hush money” payments.

The Insider Today team: Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York. Hallam Bullock, editor, in London. Jordan Parker Erb, editor, in New York. George Glover, reporter, in London.