How do Google employees develop cool stuff like artificial intelligence when the Wi-Fi network is spotty?
Recently, Google’s AI chatbot Gemini received some mixed reactions for its inability to create racially accurate photos of people. However, according to a new report, the development team behind Google’s current artificial intelligence efforts are facing other obstacles, including… spotty Wi-Fi speeds.
Eight anonymous employees at Google’s Bayview headquarters in Mountain View, Calif., said their offices were experiencing confusing Wi-Fi issues. The employee said Wi-Fi has been “unusable” and “flaky” for the past few months. Google’s image-generating artificial intelligence research team and parts of the company’s advertising team also work on the campus, Reuters reported.
Employees said they had to plug in Ethernet (LAN) cables to get a stable connection, and some even had to resort to makeshift solutions using mobile hotspots. Additionally, managers asked employees to go outside or to an on-site coffee shop, where Wi-Fi coverage appeared to be better, the report said.
A Google spokesperson acknowledged the issue to Reuters, saying the company had “made some improvements to address the issue” and promised a fix in the coming weeks. Google recently gave some employees new laptops with more powerful Wi-Fi chips.
There is no public information on the cause of the Wi-Fi issues, but one person who spoke to Reuters said the unique design of the Bayview campus, particularly the roof, “gobbled up Wi-Fi signals.” “Fi is like the Bermuda Triangle.” The irony of the situation prompted one employee to exclaim: “People think the world’s leading internet company is going to solve this problem.”
Under this corrugated iron roof, Google employees are racing to deploy the latest version of advanced artificial intelligence software called Gemini, a key to Google’s future. This type of AI became popular in Silicon Valley after the widespread release of ChatGPT in late 2022.