Google co-founder Sergey Brin admitted that he “made many mistakes with Google Glass” in an interview onstage at Google I/O 2020 on Tuesday. Brin was a surprising addition to Alex Kantrowitz’s interview with Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google DeepMind.
Brin continued to say that he “didnāt know anything about consumer electronics supply chains” or how difficult it would have been to build smart sunglasses at a price point that was affordable. The Google cofounder said he is a firm believer in smart glasses and that he is glad the company has pursued them again, this time, with “great partners” who are helping build this.
Earlier, on Tuesday, Google announced its latest effort to create Android XR-powered smart glasses. This comes roughly a decade since the Google Glass project was shut down. Google leaders demonstrated how their smart glasses powered by DeepMindās Project Astra could assist with live translations and directions, as well as general AI queries. Google is working with a number of partners to develop Android XR AR glasses that have AI capabilities. These include Samsung and Xreal. Google will also invest up to $150 million into a partnership with Warby Parker and take an equity stake in this eyewear company to support its smart glass efforts. Brin mentioned that experienced eyewear and electronic makers could help with the supply chain issues associated with smart glasses.
Brin mentioned that the advent of generative AI has made the capabilities of smart glass much more tangible compared to when Google Glass was available.
Brin admitted earlier in the interview that he had come out of retirement and is now working on Google’s Gemini initiatives. The Google cofounder says that he is in Mountain View, California, almost every day and is helping the Gemini team on multimodal projects such as Google’s Veo 3 video-generating model.
Brin said, “Anyone who is a computer scientist shouldn’t be retired right away.” “They should be working in AI.”
Previous report have suggested that Brin has pushed Googleās Gemini teams quite aggressively to compete in AI race. Brin reportedly told Google employees that they should be at the office every day, and that 60 hours per week is the sweet spot of productivity. Maxwell Zeff, a senior reporter for TechCrunch who specializes in AI and emerging technology, is available at
. Zeff covered the rise and fall of AI, as well as the Silicon Valley Bank Crisis, for Gizmodo and MSNBC. He is based out of San Francisco. When he is not reporting, you can find him hiking, biking and exploring the Bay Area food scene.
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