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Tag: Alphabet

  • Remote Work Saving Google and Alphabet $1 Billion a Year

    Remote Work Saving Google and Alphabet $1 Billion a Year

    Google executives may be eager to return to the office, but remote work is already saving the company $1 billion a year.

    In a blog post in March, Google CEO Sundar Pichai emphasized the company’s commitment to in-person collaboration.

    Coming together in person to collaborate and build community is core to Google’s culture, and it will be an important part of our future.

    Despite the company’s preference for in-person collaboration, remote work has had very tangible benefits for Google. According to Bloomberg, Google’s parent Alphabet saved $268 million in the first quarter, as a result of cuts to company promotions, travel and entertainment. Over a year’s time, that equals more than $1 billion.

    The revelation illustrates the issues many companies are facing. Even if they prefer in-office work, many companies are saving millions — or even billions — of dollars as a result of remote work.

  • Alphabet Scores Big on Google Ad Revenue

    Alphabet Scores Big on Google Ad Revenue

    Alphabet released its latest results, reporting a strong quarter on rebounding ad revenue for Google.

    Like many companies that rely on advertising, Alphabet was initially impacted by the pandemic. A year in, however, the company’s ad business has recovered and is continuing to grow.

    According to the results, Google’s sales came in just under $45 billion, a 32% increase over the previous year. Alphabet’s overall revenue, including Google ad sales, cloud business and device sales, increased 34% from the previous year.

    “Over the last year, people have turned to Google Search and many online services to stay informed, connected and entertained,” said CEO Sundar Pichai. “We’ve continued our focus on delivering trusted services to help people around the world. Our Cloud services are helping businesses, big and small, accelerate their digital transformations.”

    “Total revenues of $55.3 billion in the first quarter reflect elevated consumer activity online and broad based growth in advertiser revenue,” said CFO Ruth Porat. “We’re very pleased with the ongoing momentum in Google.”

  • J.P. Morgan Raises Alphabet Price Target

    J.P. Morgan Raises Alphabet Price Target

    J.P. Morgan has raised the price target for Alphabet stock to $2,575 from $2,390, citing the company’s fundamentals.

    The advertising industry was hit especially hard in the early days of the pandemic. Like many companies, Google’s parent initially faced challenges and uncertainty as a result. Advertising has since rebounded, and Alphabet has been aggressively diversifying into other business, especially cloud computing.

    According to TheStreet, J.P. Morgan analyst Doug Anmuth believes those fundamentals put the the company in a good position to benefit long-term.

    “We remain positive on Alphabet, as we believe it is well positioned across ads, clouds, and a number of other key initiatives to both drive and benefit from long-term digital trends,” Anmuth wrote.

    “And it has an attractive combination of top-line scale, growth and margins, supporting our view that valuation remains attractive at 27 times our 2022 estimated Alphabet GAAP earnings per share, or 22 times our 2022 estimated GAAP earnings per share excluding cash and other bets.”

  • Governor Cuomo Makes Low-Cost Broadband Mandatory

    Governor Cuomo Makes Low-Cost Broadband Mandatory

    Governor Andrew Cuomo has signed a bill that would force companies to make broadband access available to low-income families for $15 a month.

    Internet access is more important than ever, as employees work from home and children learn remotely as a result of the pandemic. Unfortunately, standard broadband plans are out-of-reach for many low-income families.

    New York has taken a major step toward ensuring everyone has access to broadband, by capping the cost for low-income families, according to The Washington Post. A basic broadband plan will be capped at $15 per month, while upgraded plans would be capped at $20.

    Eric Schmidt, former Alphabet CEO, was on-hand with Cuomo at a briefing and was supportive of the new legislation.

    “Internet is no longer optional,” Schmidt said. “Think of the generation that we could be creating that are not learning because we didn’t give them Internet access.”

  • TSMC: Chip Shortages Won’t Ease Until 2023

    TSMC: Chip Shortages Won’t Ease Until 2023

    TSMC has delivered further bad news on the semiconductor shortage, predicting supplies chain tightness won’t completely ease until 2023.

    The world is experiencing a significant shortage of semiconductors, with multiple industries currently being impacted. Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger has warned the shortage could last a couple of years, and now TSMC has issued a similar assessment.

    TSMC specializes in manufacturing semiconductors for partner companies, and is the premier chipmaker for Apple. The company also makes chips for Qualcomm, Alphabet, AMD, NVIDIA and Huawei, and will make the i3 for Intel.

    According to Bloomberg, TSMC believes shortages will begin to ease for the auto industry next quarter, but the overall industry will continue to experience shortages throughout the rest of the year and into next.

    “We see the demand continue to be high,” CEO C.C. Wei said. “In 2023, I hope we can offer more capacity to support our customers. At that time, we’ll start to see the supply chain tightness release a little bit.”

  • New York Times Tech Workers Unionize

    New York Times Tech Workers Unionize

    Tech workers at The New York Times have formed a union, part of an ongoing trend within the tech industry.

    Once nearly devoid of unions, the tech industry has seen growing support for unionization. Kickstarter employees unionized in early 2020, and Alphabet/Google employees unionized at the beginning of 2021.

    According to Katie Robertson, writing for the Times (of course):

    The group, a majority of which signed cards in support of the effort, of more than 650 employees includes software engineers, designers, data analysts and product managers. It will be represented by the NewsGuild of New York. NewsGuild membership already includes more than 1,300 newsroom workers and business staff members at The Times, as well as workers at other media outlets.

    While that may seem like an inordinate amount of tech workers for a newspaper, the Times has a goal of reaching 10 million digital subscribers by 2025, leading to increased hiring of tech talent. The Times nearly hit the seven million mark in 2020, with digital subscribers becoming the biggest source of revenue.

    The tech workers will not be in a the same bargaining unit as other Times workers represented by NewGuild. The workers have asked management to voluntarily recognize their new union.

  • Workers at Medium Are Forming the Newest Tech Union

    Workers at Medium Are Forming the Newest Tech Union

    Workers at Medium are the latest group of tech employees that have decided to unionize, in an industry where the concept was once foreign.

    An overwhelming majority of workers at Medium, some 70%, have come out in favor of forming a union with the Communications Workers of America. The Medium Workers Union has said it will push the company to create a more equitable workplace.

    The Medium Workers Union emphasizes the challenges faced by companies at the crossroads of media and tech, and is committed to helping the company and employees be responsible stewards of the responsibility that comes with that.

    We are organizing because both tech and media are at a crossroads, and it is more important than ever that companies in both industries are equitable and supportive of their employees. This is the age of newsroom buyouts, startups folding, tech companies shifting more jobs to contractors, and the general implosion of independent media. Tech and media companies alike are constantly changing direction, dissolving and reforming, pivoting and refocusing. This often creates business advantages, but it also upends workers’ lives. To thrive as a creative, sustainable platform, Medium must support and protect its workforce and create the best environment possible in these turbulent times.

    We will hold Medium, and ourselves, to ethical and just standards. We’ll amplify the voices of the marginalized. We’ll defend democracy with our platform. We’ll restore justice where harm has been done. We’ll help shape a company where all are welcome, protected, and have an equitable share in decision making. And together we’ll build a platform where our users are guaranteed the same.

    The tech industry was once a union-free zone, but recent events have begun to change that. Workers at Kickstarter created a union in February 2020, Alphabet created a union in January 2021 and Amazon workers are currently voting on unionization.

    One thing is clear: Tech companies are increasingly facing a reckoning with their employees and being held to higher standards than in the past.

  • Alphabet Workers Union Says Google Forbid Talk About Pay

    Alphabet and Google are once again in hot water, with the workers’ union claiming Google and a contractor forbid talking about pay.

    Federal law prohibits companies from interfering with workers discussing pay. In spite of that, according to The Mercury News, the Alphabet Workers Union (AWU) is accusing Google and a Google contractor of forbidding workers from discussing their wages.

    In its first complaint with the National Labor Relations Board, the newly-formed AWU says Google and Adecco Group had a “rule that precludes employees from discussing wages with one another,” at a South Carolina data center. One worker was even suspended in retaliation, after a supervisor noticed the worker’s social media post expressing support for the AWU.

    “The same supervisor previously sent an electronic message directing Wait not to discuss wages with her co-workers when she began asking questions about why some workers did not receive a promised bonus,” read the AWU’s news release.

    Alphabet and Google continue to have issues with employee relations, from fallout over firing Dr. Timnit to this latest incident. The companies clearly have a ways to go in their efforts to rebuild employee trust.

  • Google Faces More Backlash As Engineers Quit Over Timnit Gebru Firing

    Google Faces More Backlash As Engineers Quit Over Timnit Gebru Firing

    Google continues to face backlash from its firing of Dr. Timnit Gebru, with two engineers citing the company’s actions as the reason for their leaving.

    According to CNBC, David Baker, a user safety director, left Google in January as a result of Gebru’s firing. In a letter seen by Reuters, Baker said it had “extinguished my desire to continue as a Googler.” Baker added, “We cannot say we believe in diversity, and then ignore the conspicuous absence of many voices from within our walls.”

    Now another engineer, Vinesh Kannan, has quit, citing Google’s treatment of Gebru and recruiter April Christina Curley.

    Baker and Kannan’s resignations are just the latest pushback the company is facing for how it has treated women, and specifically Black women. In the aftermath of Gebru’s firing, the company faced widespread criticism from inside and outside the company, prompting CEO Sundar Pichai to apologize for the company’s handling of the situation.

    Even the apology, however, was widely panned as being tone-deaf and failing to take real responsibility. Gebru’s firing was directly cited by employees as a motivating factor in forming the first union among major tech companies.

    It’s hard to predict where the backlash will end, but it’s a safe bet Google will likely continue facing fallout until it implements meaningful changes.

  • Google Cloud Is Growing…But So Are Its Losses

    Google Cloud Is Growing…But So Are Its Losses

    Google released income numbers for its cloud division for the first time, and the results are a mixed bag.

    Google reported $13.1 billion in revenue for 2020, an increase from $8.9 billion in 2019. Losses increased as well, however, hitting $5.6 billion. In contrast, losses in 2019 were $4.6 billion and $4.3 billion in 2018.

    While Google Cloud lost billions, it’s worth pointing out that its revenue growth outpaced its losses.

    “Our strong results this quarter reflect the helpfulness of our products and services to people and businesses, as well as the accelerating transition to online services and the cloud,” said CEO Sundar Pichai. “Google succeeds when we help our customers and partners succeed, and we see significant opportunities to forge meaningful partnerships as businesses increasingly look to a digital future.”

    “Our strong fourth quarter performance, with revenues of $56.9 billion, was driven by Search and YouTube, as consumer and business activity recovered from earlier in the year,” said Ruth Porat, CFO of Google and Alphabet. “Google Cloud revenues were $13.1 billion for 2020, with significant ongoing momentum, and we remain focused on delivering value across the growth opportunities we see.”

  • Alphabet Workers Announce Global Union Alliance, Alpha Global

    Alphabet Workers Announce Global Union Alliance, Alpha Global

    In the wake of US Alphabet workers forming the Alphabet Workers Union (AWU), employees have announced the formation of a global union alliance.

    Alphabet has been under increasing scrutiny over its handling of a range of issues, from sexual misconduct to discrimination and equality, as well as the ethical use of technology. Employees took the unprecedented step of creating the AWU, the first of its kind among the biggest tech companies in the US.

    Employees have now taken the next step, forming a global union alliance in an effort to address these issues worldwide. Alpha Global has been formed in cooperation with UNI Global Union and includes unions from 10 countries, including the US, UK, Germany, Sweden and Switzerland.

    In their joint statement, Alpha Global makes clear its goal is to hold Alphabet accountable.

    To build on these advancements and others, many Alphabet workers have started on a path to unionization and collective bargaining. Workers are building democratic organizations to represent their interests, to struggle collectively, to create a structural counterbalance to corporate power, and to build a movement of tech workers across the industry.

    A just Alphabet has wide-ranging implications for our democracies and societies. That is why we are joining together to demand fundamental human rights for all workers in Alphabet operations, including the right to form or join a union and the right to bargain collectively.

    The statement makes clear the employees believe in the good Alphabet is capable of, but the company must return to some of its early philosophies to achieve that.

    Alphabet has long lost its commitment of “Don’t be evil,” but we haven’t. Together, we will hold Alphabet accountable. Together, we will change Alphabet.

  • Loon Says Goodbye As Alphabet Pulls The Plug

    Loon Says Goodbye As Alphabet Pulls The Plug

    Alphabet is shutting down Loon, its attempt to deliver internet service via balloons, according to Loon’s CEO.

    Loon began in 2011, as an unofficial Google X incubation project, before becoming an official project in 2013. The company’s goal was to use balloons in place of cell towers, to provide internet access to underserved areas. The concept was especially appealing in areas where building cell towers would otherwise be difficult, dangerous or impossible.

    The company struck a deal to provide service in Kenya, and was used in disaster zones to help keep people connected, such as in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria. Despite its success, however, Alphabet is pulling the plug.

    CEO Alastair Westgarth broke the news in a blog post:

    While we’ve found a number of willing partners along the way, we haven’t found a way to get the costs low enough to build a long-term, sustainable business. Developing radical new technology is inherently risky, but that doesn’t make breaking this news any easier. Today, I’m sad to share that Loon will be winding down.

    Loon was definitely one of the stranger projects to come out of Google and Alphabet and it’s a shame to see it shutting down.

  • Verily, Broad Institute and Microsoft Partner For Multi-Cloud Biomedical Research

    Verily, Broad Institute and Microsoft Partner For Multi-Cloud Biomedical Research

    Alphabet’s Verily and Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard have partnered with Microsoft to advance biomedical research.

    Alphabet’s Google and Microsoft may be major rivals in the cloud market, but Alphabet’s Verily — its life and sciences company — is working with Microsoft to help remove the technical barriers for biomedical researchers.

    But making use of these important datasets remains difficult for researchers who face huge, siloed data estates, disparate tools, fragmented systems and data standards, and varying governance and security policies.

    The new partnership aims to break through those barriers by bringing together Microsoft’s cloud, data and AI technologies, and global network of more than 168,000 health and life sciences partners to accelerate development of global biomedical research through the Terra platform, provide greater access and empower the open-source community. Building on the open-source foundation of Terra, the new collaboration will advance the ability of data scientists, biomedical researchers and clinicians around the world to collaborate in tackling some of the most complex and widespread diseases facing society today.

    Emphasizing the importance of a multi-cloud approach, a Verily spokesperson told VentureBeat that “Verily feels strongly that the open data ecosystem should be multi-cloud.”

    Biomedical research is more important than ever, especially as the world grapples with a global pandemic. Verily, the Broad Institute and Microsoft’s efforts should go a long way toward easing the technical challenges biomedical researchers face.

  • Tesla Replaces Facebook As Fifth Most Valuable US Company

    Tesla Replaces Facebook As Fifth Most Valuable US Company

    Tesla entered an exclusive club Friday, becoming the fifth most valuable US company at Facebook’s expense.

    Tesla closed the day Friday with a valuable of $820 billion, making it one of the top five most valuable US companies, according to CNBC. The previous fifth-place company, Facebook, was worth $763 billion at the close of market.

    Tesla’s new valuation places it in exclusive company, along with Apple, Microsoft, Amazon and Alphabet. It also underscores the importance of the electric vehicle (EV) market as countries and companies pivot to environmentally sustainable transportation.

    As CNBC points out, Tesla is benefiting from the recent elections, with President-elect Joe Biden committed to heavy investment in EV charging infrastructure and the domestic auto industry. Similarly, Democratic candidates winning the Georgia runoff races was seen as another boost to Tesla, as it clears potential obstacles to Biden’s agenda and environmental initiatives.

  • Alphabet’s Waymo Switches to ‘Fully Autonomous Driving’ vs ‘Self-Driving’

    Alphabet’s Waymo Switches to ‘Fully Autonomous Driving’ vs ‘Self-Driving’

    Waymo has announced it will no longer use the term “self-driving,” embracing “fully autonomous driving technology” instead.

    One of Alphabet’s subsidiary companies, Waymo is a company focused on autonomous driving in what is quickly becoming a crowded industry. Waymo says it is making the distinction in an effort to save lives, highlighting that its software is far different than “self-driving” software that still requires human interaction.

    It may seem like a small change, but it’s an important one, because precision in language matters and could save lives. We’re hopeful that consistency will help differentiate the fully autonomous technology Waymo is developing from driver-assist technologies (sometimes erroneously referred to as “self-driving” technologies) that require oversight from licensed human drivers for safe operation. Regardless of who or what is at the helm, safely operating a vehicle on public roads requires careful execution of all the elements of the driving task. Today, the Waymo Driver makes billions of decisions each day as it safely moves people and goods to their destination in fully autonomous mode.

    The fact that Waymo is taking the time make a distinction between “self-driving” and “fully autonomous” is evidence of what’s at stake in the automotive industry.

    The autonomous driving industry is estimated to reach a staggering $556.67 billion by 2026. As a result, companies like Waymo will be doing everything possible to set themselves apart and gain as big a piece of that market as possible.

  • Alphabet and Google Employees Form Union

    Alphabet and Google Employees Form Union

    Alphabet and Google employees have formed a union in response to missteps by management.

    The Alphabet Workers Union (AWU) has been formed with support from the Communications Workers of America (CWA). The union is the first in the company’s history, and one of just a few in the tech industry at large.

    Support for unionization has been growing within Alphabet/Google for some time, and management’s actions have only increased that support. In late 2020, the company was accused of illegally spying on, and eventually firing, employees who were trying to form a union, leading to a complaint by the National Labor Relations Board.

    Google also landed in hot water for firing Dr. Timnit Gebru, one of the world’s leading AI ethics researchers. While the company maintains Dr. Gebru resigned, her colleagues insist the company forced her out. The move drew condemnation from experts inside and outside the company. While CEO Sundar Pichai tried to address the issue in an email to employees, it was widely criticized as being tone-deaf.

    Dr. Gebru’s firing was directly referenced in a statement announcing the formation of the AWU:

    Most recently, the company fired Dr. Timnit Gebru, a leading artificial intelligence researcher, for no reason whatsoever. The firing has caused outrage from thousands of us, including Black and Brown workers who are heartbroken by the company’s actions and unsure of their future at Google.

    The statement also addressed the company’s “Don’t Be Evil” slogan. Once a motto the company proudly displayed and adhered to, it has increasingly become an afterthought, as the company has worked with China, accepted military contracts, mishandled sexual abuse allegations, intimidated workers and more, issues that have further alienated workers:

    Workers who have organized to stop these trends have been met by intimidation, suppression, and blatantly illegal firings, as recently confirmed by the National Labor Relations Board. Instead of listening to workers, Google hired IRI, a notorious anti-union firm, to suppress their organizing. This is how Google’s executives have chosen to interact with workers.

    The only tactic that has ensured workers are respected and heard is collective action. Project Maven was cancelled when thousands of Googlers pledged they would not work on unethical tech. Forced arbitration was ended when Googlers walked out across the globe.

    Employees made it clear the AWU would work to address these issues, and use their collective power to force Google’s hand into making better decisions.

    “This union builds upon years of courageous organizing by Google workers,” said Nicki Anselmo, Program Manager. “From fighting the ‘real names’ policy, to opposing Project Maven, to protesting the egregious, multi-million dollar payouts that have been given to executives who’ve committed sexual harassment, we’ve seen first-hand that Alphabet responds when we act collectively. Our new union provides a sustainable structure to ensure that our shared values as Alphabet employees are respected even after the headlines fade.”

    “This is historic—the first union at a major tech company by and for all tech workers,” said Dylan Baker, Software Engineer. “We will elect representatives, we will make decisions democratically, we will pay dues, and we will hire skilled organizers to ensure all workers at Google know they can work with us if they actually want to see their company reflect their values.”

    It remains to be seen how Alphabet/Google will respond, but management has an opportunity to reset relations with employees and regain some of the respect it has squandered.

  • Loon Internet Balloons Being Piloted By Google AI

    Loon Internet Balloons Being Piloted By Google AI

    Fully autonomous cars may not be here yet, but artificial intelligence (AI) is already piloting Loon’s fleet of internet-providing balloons.

    Loon is one of Alphabet’s companies dedicated to providing internet access to rural and underserved areas. The company uses high-altitude balloons that drift in the stratosphere, 11 to 16 miles above the Earth’s surface, creating a wireless network to provide internet access.

    The company announced in a blog post that it has turned over navigation of the balloons to Google’s deep reinforcement learning AI.

    “In our ongoing efforts to improve Loon’s navigation system for our stratospheric connectivity mission, a small group of colleagues at Loon and Google AI had been working to develop a more powerful navigation system that leverages deep reinforcement learning (RL), which is a type of machine learning technique that enables an agent to learn by trial and error in an interactive environment using feedback from its own actions and experiences,” writes Salvatore Candido, Loon CTO. “This contrasts against the conventional approach of the automated system following fixed procedures artisanally crafted by engineers.”

    While some may question whether the balloon’s RL qualifies as a true AI, Candido believes it has now crossed that line.

    “In my last post about Loon’s navigation system, I asked the question of whether we were dealing with AI. My answer was uncertain,” continues Candido. “This time my answer is even more nuanced. While there is no chance that a super-pressure balloon drifting efficiently through the stratosphere will become sentient, we have transitioned from designing its navigation system ourselves to having computers construct it in a data-driven manner. Even if it’s not the beginning of an Asimov novel, it’s a good story and maybe something worth calling AI.”

    Whatever degree of AI Loon’s navigation system achieves, it’s a significant development in the technology.

  • Alphabet Beats Estimates On Advertising Rebound

    Alphabet Beats Estimates On Advertising Rebound

    Alphabet reported its third quarter results, beating consensus estimates, amid an increase in advertiser spending.

    Alphabet reported quarterly revenue of $46.2 billion, up from $40.5 billion the year-ago quarter. The company posted an $11.25 billion profit, or $10.12 a share. Executives attributed the results to the company’s investment in emerging technologies, such as AI, as well as a rebound in advertising spending. YouTube, in particular, brought in $5 billion in revenue.

    “We had a strong quarter, consistent with the broader online environment,” said Sundar Pichai, Chief Executive Officer of Alphabet and Google. “It’s also a testament to the deep investments we’ve made in AI and other technologies, to deliver services that people turn to for help, in moments big and small.”

    “Total revenues of $46.2 billion in the third quarter reflect broad based growth led by an increase in advertiser spend in Search and YouTube as well as continued strength in Google Cloud and Play,” said Ruth Porat, Chief Financial Officer of Alphabet and Google. “We remain focused on making the right investments to support long term sustainable value.”

    Alphabet is just the latest company to beat analysts’ estimates. Pinterest reported its results Wednesday, and also reported an outstanding quarter on advertising rebound. Apple likewise reported a record quarter on strong Mac, iPad and Services.

  • Get Ready For Amazon Prime Drone Deliveries

    Get Ready For Amazon Prime Drone Deliveries

    Amazon’s plans to use autonomous drones for package delivery took a big step forward with FAA approval to begin testing.

    Amazon Prime Air has been working toward the use of drones to deliver packages to consumers in 30 minutes or less. According to Reuters, the FAA just approved the company to begin testing of its autonomous drones, joining UPS and Alphabet’s Wing division.

    The drone service could represent a big cost savings to Amazon, while giving the company a competitive advantage, in terms of the speed of delivery. At the same time, there are still a number of challenges to address. As more people rely on online shopping, porch piracy has become a major issue. It’s a safe bet there will be an equally big problem with ‘package poaching’ as Amazon’s drones take to the sky.

    Either way, the FAA’s approval to begin testing is an important step in widespread adoption of drone deliveries.

  • Google Giving Employees $1,000 to Help Work From Home

    Google Giving Employees $1,000 to Help Work From Home

    Google has become the latest company to allow employees to work from home for the rest of the year, and promised to give them $1,000 to help.

    In a blog post on Tuesday, CEO Sundar Pichai outlined the company’s policy, saying that the majority of Googlers will be able to work from home for the rest of the calendar year. For the small number of Googlers whose jobs require onsite work, they will be notified by June 10.

    “Because we still expect that most Googlers will be largely working from home for the rest of this year, we’ll be giving each Googler an allowance of $1,000 USD, or the equivalent value in your country, to expense necessary equipment and office furniture,” writes Pichai.

    In the meantime, the company expects long-term changes in how Googlers work, with more flexibility being the new status quo.

    “Moving ahead, we are looking to develop more overall flexibility in how we work,” says Pichai. “Our campuses are designed to enable collaboration and community—in fact, some of our greatest innovations were the result of chance encounters in the office—and it’s clear this is something many of us don’t want to lose. At the same time, we are very familiar with distributed work as we have many offices around the world and open-minded about the lessons we’ll learn through this period. We continue to study all the data and feedback you’re sharing on your current experience. I believe that ultimately these insights will lead to more flexibility and choice for employees as they consider how to work in the future.”

    This is likely welcome news on all fronts for Googlers, and hopefully the company will find new ways to meet its employees needs in a changed landscape.

  • Coronavirus: Google Scrambling to Catch Up to Trump’s Announcement

    Coronavirus: Google Scrambling to Catch Up to Trump’s Announcement

    President Trump surprised Google Friday, saying the company was working on a coronavirus web portal. Now the company is scrambling to catch up.

    During Friday’s briefing, wherein he declared a national emergency, Trump said that Google was working on a website to assist with coronavirus screening. The President even went so far as to say that some 1,700 Google engineers were hard at work on the project. There was only one problem: it wasn’t entirely true. Both President Trump, and White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator Dr. Debbie Birx, had mixed up the facts and left out one very important one.

    First and foremost, the company working on the site was Verily, Google’s sibling company. Like Google, Verily falls under parent company Alphabet, and is its life science company. Second, the website in question is nowhere near ready for prime time, and was only slated for initial testing in the Bay Area. In addition, according to a statement to The Verge, Verily said the website was aimed at helping healthcare professionals, not the general public as Trump indicated.

    In the aftermath of the surprise announcement, however, it seems Google is shifting gears to try to deliver what Trump promised. The company made the announcement via its Google Communications (@Google_Comms) Twitter account:

    ”We are fully aligned and continue to work with the US Government to contain the spread of COVID-19, inform citizens, and protect the health of our communities.

    “Google is partnering with the US Government in developing a nationwide website that includes information about COVID-19 symptoms, risk and testing information.

    ”This is in addition to other measures we are taking, including: a Google “home page promotion” to promote greater awareness of simple measures citizens can take to prevent the spread of the disease;

    ”Work being done by our sister company Verily to launch a pilot website that will enable individuals to do a risk assessment and be scheduled for testing at sites in the Bay Area;

    ”Promoting authoritative information through Google Search and YouTube; taking measures to protect users from misinformation, including phishing, conspiracy theories, malware and misinformation;

    ”Rolling out free access to our advanced Hangouts Meet video-conferencing capabilities to all G Suite and G Suite for Education customers globally until 7/01/20; advancing health research and science; and financially supporting global relief efforts.” – Google Spokesperson

    — Google Communications (@GoogleComms) 3/14/20

    While Google is to be commended for stepping up to the plate, even under confusing circumstances, the company will likely face additional challenges convincing individuals to trust it with their health data. Google recently found itself in hot water over its Project Nightingale, when it was discovered the company partnered with Ascension to collect medical data on millions of Americans without their knowledge. In the wake of that, there may not be many Americans that want to voluntarily give their medical data to the search giant.