Google co-founder Sergey Brin recently said that stepping away from the company in 2019 to try retirement turned out to be a mistake, prompting his return to hands-on work on Google’s AI efforts.
Speaking in a recently released talk at Stanford University’s School of Engineering, Brin called his decision to retire “the worst decision,” saying he underestimated how much he depended on intellectually demanding work.
He said he initially imagined a quieter life spent studying physics and working from cafes, but the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted those plans, leaving him isolated and disengaged.
Without challenging work, Brin said he began to feel himself “spiraling” and losing sharpness.
As offices gradually reopened, he started spending more time at Google and became deeply involved in what later became Gemini, the company’s flagship AI model.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai has since confirmed Brin’s renewed involvement, noting that he spends significant time with the company’s AI teams and works in a hands-on capacity rather than an executive role.
“Sergey is spending more time in the office. He’s literally coding,” Pichai said, recalling sessions where they reviewed model training metrics together.
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