Google isn't just afraid of competition from ChatGPT — the giant is scared ChatGPT will kill AI

Happy nearly Lunar New Year's Eve, reader. I'm Diamond Naga Siu, and I'm excited to hop into the Year of the Rabbit. This New Year I'm reflecting on old traditions — I think a lot of new things benefit from the influence of the old and vice versa. A perfect example of this is the viral technology ChatGPT.

ChatGPT makes a lot of people nervous (here's everything you need to know about it, BTW). People more scholarly than I am are worried about cheating, plagiarism, and more issues.

But I'm fascinated by the idea of technology so advanced that it pushes us to low-tech methods. Maybe the future of school returns to pen and paper. Maybe it looks like an oral exam. Or maybe one day ChatGPT will just teach the class — that's probably part of Google's AI nightmare.

Before we get into that, we've got some breaking news this morning: Google has announced that it is laying off 12,000 staff.

We've got more on that below. But first, let's talk AI.

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1. ChatGPT has Google on high alert. It's not just that ChatGPT is offering serious competition to its search engine. It's that the technology represents everything Google was afraid artificial intelligence would become. If ChatGPT runs rampant, the search giant fears it could ruin AI adoption for everyone.

• Since going viral, ChatGPT has demonstrated how generative AI can be user-friendly, practical, and productive. But it also comes with controversy: the possibility that it can be used for cheating, phishing, malware, and other bad behaviors.
• The CEO behind ChatGPT, however, thinks people just need to adapt. He pointed to how schools now use calculators to augment math lessons. "This is a more extreme version of that, no doubt," he said in an interview with StrictlyVC, "but also the benefits of it are more extreme, as well."
• My colleague Hasan Chowdhury breaks down how so-called generative AI — not just ChatGPT — could derail an entire sector of emerging technology.

Enter Google's nightmare: AI on the loose.

In other news:

2. Google is laying off 12,000 employees, or around 6% of its global workforce. Sundar Pichai, the CEO of parent company Alphabet, told staff in a memo that he took "full responsibility for the decisions that led us here." Read his message to employees here.

3. Amazon employees were laid off via email. Rather than having a face-to-face meeting, employees learned about their layoff through generic emails. "Unfortunately, your role has been eliminated," it read. Here's the full, impersonal message.

4. That Stings — Microsoft hosted an invite-only concert. Days before layoffs were announced, Microsoft executives reportedly rocked out at an invite-only Sting concert. The exclusive fete of around 50 people was held in Davos, Switzerland. More on the private party here.

5. In with the new CEO and out with the old at Netflix. Greg Peters was named the new co-CEO after Reed Hastings stepped down on Thursday. He's a longtime exec who led international expansion and Netflix's foray into gaming. Get to know Greg here.

6. Check out the 'Lamborghini of meat slicers.' Twitter's HQ auction had a bunch of interesting things. The Berkel 330M-STD Manual Fly Wheel Slicer was one of them — a spiffy appliance featured in top restaurants. Check out this meaty machine here.

7. Say goodbye to those massive tech compensation packages. The economic downturn has taken compensation down with it. Pay is plummeting, stock grants are shrinking, and bonuses are becoming more scarce. Here's everything you need to know about the money shift.

8. Meet one of the most loyal Tesla owners. After swerving, crashing into a cop car, and totalling his vehicle while using autopilot, this Tesla owner is still a big fan of the self-driving feature. He actually believes it has the ability to save lives. Inside the mind of this tech believer.

Odds and ends:

9. Spot this once-in-50,000-years opportunity. A green comet is approaching Earth for the first time in 50,000 years. Comet ZTF is slated to pass by in late January and early February. Get all your comet gazing deets here.

10. Welcome to this 'flawless' New York to Singapore flight. This is what it's like to fly business class on the longest flight in the world — complete with plush linens and mimosas. Soar with us here.

The latest people moves in tech:

• These are the top Google Cloud execs who've come and gone this past year.
• Netflix co-CEO and co-founder Reed Hastings has stepped down.

Curated by Diamond Naga Siu in New York. (Feedback or tips? Email dsiu@insider.com or tweet @diamondnagasiu) Edited by Matt Weinberger (tweet @gamoid) in San Francisco and Hallam Bullock (tweet @hallam_bullock) in London.