Overview
- The former Google CEO said "work from home won't win in tech" in a conference interview published by the All‑In podcast.
- He argued remote setups stunt young employees' growth by limiting on‑the‑job learning and informal mentoring, recalling lessons he picked up in offices at Sun Microsystems.
- He said competing with China may require work‑life tradeoffs, invoking the "996" schedule, joking that government jobs offer balance, and then apologizing multiple times.
- He described the U.S. and China as roughly peer competitors in AI, noting export controls have slowed China as it focuses on applied systems like apps and robots rather than AGI.
- His comments renewed attention to stricter in‑office expectations at Google, including reports that Sergey Brin urged Gemini teams to work on‑site most weekdays.