--- title: "Leaked Google Memo Shows Fear of Losing the AI Race, But Not to the Foe You’d Think" description: "In a leaked internal memo, a Google exec expressed serious fears about losing the ongoing AI arms race to, well, anyone." date: "2023-05-13" modified: "2023-05-13" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/leaked-google-memo-fear-ai-race" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" - "Google" tags: - "ai" - "Google" - "open source" - "silicon valley" --- # Leaked Google Memo Shows Fear of Losing the AI Race, But Not to the Foe You’d Think ![In a leaked internal memo, a Google exec expressed serious fears about losing the ongoing AI arms race to, well, anyone.]() *WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 11: Google CEO Sundar Pichai testifies before the House Judiciary Committee at the Rayburn House Office Building on December 11, 2018 in Washington, DC. The committee held a hearing on 'Transparency & Accountability: Examining Google and its Data Collection, Use and Filtering Practices.” (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) \Image: Getty Images / Alex Wong\* In a leaked internal memo, a Google exec expressed serious fears about losing the ongoing AI arms race — but the competition that the exec fears most, [according to an *NBC* report](), might be a little unexpected. "We've done a lot of looking over our shoulders at OpenAI," reads the memo, which a Google spokesperson confirmed as authentic to *NBC* but cautioned were only the thoughts of one person at the company. "But the uncomfortable truth is, we aren’t positioned to win this arms race and neither is OpenAI." "I'm talking, of course, about open source. Plainly put, they are lapping us," it continued. "While our models still hold a slight edge in terms of quality, the gap is closing astonishingly quickly." In other words, according to this exec, though Google and its Silicon Valley competitors like [Microsoft-slash-OpenAI]() and [Meta]() still have a narrow upper hand, open-source models are quickly catching up. And that, per the memo, is reason for concern. The Google exec makes a pretty good case. Aided in large part by a major leak of Meta's advanced language model, LLaMa, small and scrappy open-source models [like AutoGPT]() have made major strides in recent months. And to that end, it's one thing to have visible, tangible competition like Meta and Microsoft-slash-OpenAI. Fighting an arms race against what's effectively the open web, where users can learn and borrow from each other and tailor development to their personal needs, is another beast entirely. "I don't think I need something as powerful as GPT-4 for a lot of things that I want to do," Simon Willison, a programmer and tech analyst and blogger, told *NBC.* "The open question I have right now is, how small can the model be while still being useful?" he added. "That's something which the open source community is figuring out really, really quickly." "Largely, I think people are trying to do good with these things, make people more productive or are making experiences better," added Mark Riedl, a computer scientist and professor at Georgia Tech. "You don't want a monopoly, or even a small set of companies kind of controlling everything. And I think you’ll see a greater level of creativity by putting these tools into the hands of more people." But while there might be some merits to a decentralized approach to AI, there are also some dangers. In addition to a number of more [philosophical ethical questions](), AI poses a lot of [very real threats](), and in the hands of theoretically unlimited bad actors, systems built by way of open-source channels may well do a lot of harm. "It really now becomes the question of what are people going to use these things for," Riedl told *NBC*. "There's really no restrictions on making specialized versions of models that are designed specifically to create toxic material, or misinformation, or to spread hate on the internet." **More on Google:** [*Google Staff Warned Its AI Was a "Pathological Liar" Before They Released It Anyway*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride." ### Author social links [Bluesky]()