谷歌（Google）前行政總裁Eric Schmidt在4月時出席史丹福大學主辦的講座，講座影片近日由史丹福大學上傳網絡，席間Schmidt對Google的遙距工作政策作出批評，引起關注。最終Schmidt為言論道歉，史丹福大學亦下架了該影片。

Schmidt在該講座上談及了人工智能（AI）發展，當中包括他本人對不同國家在AI發展上的看法、英偉達（Nvidia）現時的優勢、微軟跟 ChatGPT開發商OpenAI的合作等。

Schmidt在評論Google與OpenAI、Anthropic等在AI賽場上的競爭時，他抨擊了Google的遙距工作政策。他表示，比起在AI競賽中勝出，Google認為取得工作與生活的平衡、早點回家及在家工作（Work from home，WFH）更為重要。他又將Google與初創進行對比，指出初創的成功源自於員工的拚命工作，初創「不會讓員工WFH，及一周只回辦公室一天」。

Schmidt又認為公司創辦人很特殊，他們往往需要主導公司，他們難以與其他人共事、亦對員工要求很高。Schmidt以Tesla、xAI創辦人馬斯克（Elon Musk）為例，指儘管我們可能不喜歡他的個人行為，但能看到他從員工身上激發出甚麼。

工會反駁：裁員等因素拖慢員工步伐

代表過千名谷歌及其母企Alphabet員工的Alphabet工人工會，在社交平台X上發文稱，彈性工作安排不會影響員工的工作速度，並認為每日在拖慢谷歌員工步伐的是人手不足、改變工作項目的優次、持續裁員、工資停滯不前，以及管理層對項目缺乏跟進等。 

Google's former CEO, Eric Schmidt, had a talk at Stanford University back in April, and the video has recently resurfaced online. During the talk, Schmidt criticized Google's remote work policy, sparking significant attention. Later, Schmidt apologized for his comments, and Stanford University removed the video.

In the event, Schmidt discussed the development of artificial intelligence (AI), including his views on AI development in different countries, Nvidia's current advantages, and the cooperation between Microsoft and ChatGPT developer OpenAI.

When commenting on Google's competition with AI rivals like OpenAI and Anthropic, Schmidt blamed Google's remote work policy. He said, “Google decided that work-life balance and going home early and working from home (WFH) was more important than winning.” He contrasted Google with startups, noting that the success of startups stems from the hard work of their employees, who would “not going to let people work from home and only come in one day a week."

Schmidt also expressed his belief that company founders are special who need to be in charge. He described them as someone difficult to work with and push people hard. Using Tesla and xAI founder Elon Musk as an example, Schmidt stated that although people may dislike Musk's personal behavior, look at what he can gets out of people.

Workers Union: Layoffs and Other Factors Slowing Down Employees, Not WFH Policy

The Alphabet Workers Union, representing over a thousand Google and its parent company Alphabet employees, posted on X, stating that flexible work arrangements do not hinder employee productivity. They argued that factors such as understaffing, changing project priorities, ongoing layoffs, stagnant wages, and a lack of management follow-through are what truly slowing down Google employees.