Noam Shazeer: From Google to Character.ai - A Founder's Journey
Noam Shazeer, the founder of Character.ai, made a bold move leaving Google, where he was working on AI. In a recent podcast on "No Priors," he gave insights into his decision and what led to the creation of his startup, which has already reached remarkable milestones, including 1.7 million installations within its first week1
At Google, Shazeer was a key player in developing advanced AI technology for understanding and generating language. He revealed that Google hesitated to launch a chatbot due to worries about potential mistakes it might make in conversations. This fear of the unknown held back their chatbot plans.
This hesitation pushed Shazeer to start Character.ai. His company focuses on chatbots that can mimic famous personalities, bringing virtual characters to life. The startup quickly gained attention, with around 1.7 million installations in its first week alone.
Shazeer's partner, Daniel De Freitas, had a similar vision. He joined Google with the goal of creating intelligent chatbots. He started with a small team, working on this project alongside their regular jobs. De Freitas created a chatbot named Meena, which later became LaMDA. Despite its success, Google didn't release it, concerned about potential risks and negative outcomes.
This hesitation from Google inspired Shazeer and De Freitas to take their ideas and passion to Character.ai. Their startup aimed to fill the gap Google left by creating chatbots that can engage users in conversations like talking to Elon Musk or a psychologist.
Chatbot startups do still face challenges, and so the Google doubts were not entirely groundless. Some AI chatbots gave inaccurate or biased answers, causing concerns. Additionally, there are conversations of a sexual nature. Shazeer's new venture highlighted responsible AI use.
Shazeer's departure from Google and the journey with Character.ai reveal a significant lesson for other founders. Sometimes, innovation flourishes outside the confines of tech giants. Shazeer's story underlines the importance of taking risks and challenging established norms, which can lead to remarkable breakthroughs in the world of AI.
Source: businessinsider.com