Latest news with #EricSchmidt
Time of India
15 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
Google's ex-CEO has an advice for those trying focus at work: Meditation apps don't work, turn off your …
Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt has a straightforward message for young workers struggling to concentrate or unwind: ditch the digital distractions entirely. Speaking on the Moonshots podcast, Schmidt said researchers "can't think deeply" with constant phone notifications and dismissed meditation apps as counterproductive to genuine relaxation. Schmidt, who led Google for a decade during its explosive growth, observed that 20-something researchers he works with have found a definitive solution to maintaining focus. "They turn off their phone," he stated, according to Business Insider. "You can't think deeply as a researcher with this thing buzzing." Industry designed to hijack your attention, former Google chief warns The tech veteran acknowledged his industry's role in creating the attention crisis plaguing modern workers. Schmidt explained that technology companies have systematically worked to "monetize your attention" through advertising, notifications, and entertainment designed to capture "all of your waking hours." This constant stimulation runs "completely antithetical to the way humans traditionally work with respect to long thoughtful examination of principles," Schmidt noted. Research supports his concerns, with attention researcher Gloria Mark finding that average computer screen focus time has plummeted from 2.5 minutes two decades ago to just 47 seconds today. Schmidt says that digital wellness apps miss the mark Schmidt particularly criticized meditation apps that promise to help users relax while keeping them glued to their devices. "My favorite are these digital apps that make you relax," he said. "The correct thing to do to relax is to turn off your phone, right? And then relax in a traditional way." However, meditation app companies pushed back against Schmidt's assessment. A Calm spokesperson told Business Insider that "not all screen time is created equal," while Headspace's chief clinical officer Jenna Glover argued that telling young people to simply turn off phones "isn't realistic or helpful." AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now
India Today
17 hours ago
- Health
- India Today
Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt admits tech kills focus, turning off your phone is the only fix
Technology is rapidly evolving, and now it's easier than ever to reach out to people. But in all this hustle of social media and constant notifications, tech is definitely taking a toll on mental health and making it harder for people to focus. The best way to deal with this problem? According to former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, you can regain focus by simply turning off your phone. Yes, the same man who helped build one of the most influential tech companies and who even launched Android which is now powering billions of buzzing devices—is now saying that these very devices are impacting our ability to focus and think on the Moonshots podcast, Schmidt discussed the impact of constant digital noise, especially on young people trying to do meaningful work. 'I work with a lot of 20-somethings in research,' he said. 'One of the questions I had was, how do they do research in the presence of all these stimulations? I can answer the question definitively: they turn off their phone.'Schmidt pointed to the role of advanced tech in this rising attention crisis. 'We've essentially tried to monetise all of your waking hours,' he said. 'Ads, entertainment, subscriptions—it's all competing for your attention, and that's completely at odds with how humans are wired to think.' His comments definitely strike a chord, especially coming from someone who was once leading Google, the very company that has so many products built around capturing and keeping user attention. But Schmidt didn't shy away from the irony. 'You can't think deeply as a researcher with this thing buzzing,' he said, referring to the phone. 'Even these apps that are supposed to help you relax, just turn the phone off. That's how humans have relaxed for 70,000 years.'And this isn't the first time we have been warned about the red flags of digital distraction. Schmidt's comments echo broader growing concerns among researchers and psychologists. Dr Gloria Mark, a leading attention researcher, found in her study that the average attention span on a screen has plummeted from 2.5 minutes two decades ago to just 47 seconds today. The consequences are wide-ranging including fragmented thinking, poor retention, and increased Kwik who is known as the brain coach, author of Limitless, points out that the problem with digital distraction isn't just forgetfulness. It is the divided attention. 'They blame their retention, but it's really more their attention,' he told Forbes. 'Every ring, ping, and notification is driving us to distraction. And we wonder why we can't remember things in meetings or with our family.'A separate study from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) linked digital distractions to reduced satisfaction and perceived learning. The study found that younger users, and those disengaged from live learning environments, were particularly vulnerable. Frequent behaviours like checking the time, boredom scrolling, or sending instant messages were all predictors of higher distraction Schmidt emphasises turning off the phone, he also offers a different approach of keeping the tech and focus together. He suggests that people can continue using technology, but to focus they need to strip themselves away from the distracting bits. He shared his own example where he noted how he used Google's Gemini AI to brainstorm for six hours straight during a flight and this was possible due to no interruptions, no ads, no social media. He suggests that turning off technology might not be the only solution, people can still use it effectively, as long as they keep away from the distractions.- Ends
Mint
2 days ago
- Business
- Mint
Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt explains why the AI wave is no bubble, but a new industrial shift
Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt does not believe that the AI industry is in the midst of a dot-com-style bubble. In fact, he argues that the current wave marks the beginning of a new industrial era. Since the public rollout of ChatGPT in late 2022, huge investments have been made in AI, with big tech companies rallying behind the technology and portraying it as the next big thing. However, critics of AI have drawn parallels with the dot-com bubble of the late 1990s, and some, such as Torsten Slok, Chief Economist at Apollo Global Management, have warned that today's top AI stocks are even more overvalued than those in the dot-com era. Apart from Slok, Alibaba Group Chair Joe Tsai has also warned that US AI stocks are in a bubble. Amid rising scepticism around AI, Schmidt — who is also an investor in leading AI companies such as Anthropic and Perplexity — highlights the increasing number of large data centres powered by Nvidia's chips to demonstrate that the AI industry is not experiencing a bubble. Speaking at the RAISE summit in Paris, Schmidt said, "So, if if you if you ask most of the executives in the industry, they will say the following. They'll say that we're in a period of overbuilding. They'll say that there will be over capacity in two or three years. And when you ask them, they'll say, "But I'll be fine and the other guys are going to lose all their money." So that's a classic bubble, right?" 'I personally don't know. Um, I've looked at this pretty hard because you have these massive data centers and Nvidia is quite happy to sell them all the chips, you know, and uh the real estate developers are used to borrowing money to build these things. I've never seen a situation where hardware capacity was not taken up by software.' 'So I think it's it's unlikely based on my experience that this is a bubble. It's much more likely that you're seeing an whole new industrial structure.' Schmidt further noted.
Business Insider
2 days ago
- Business Insider
Google's former CEO has some simple advice if you're trying to focus at work or relax: 'Turn off your phone'
Eric Schmidt knows that focusing can feel impossible when notifications keep popping up. The former CEO of Google helped usher in a new age of the internet, which brought with it attention-seeking features like advertising and notifications. Today, Schmidt sees that deep focus is impossible when distracted by technology. "I've been work I work with a lot of 20-somethings in research and one of the questions I had is, how do they do research in the presence of all of these stimulations?" he said on the Moonshots podcast. "I can answer the question definitively," Schmidt said. "They turn off their phone." "You can't think deeply as a researcher with this thing buzzing," he added. For ten years, Schmidt served as CEO of a company that not only built the world's most popular search engine but also shipped Android, which, like any operating system today, dispatches notifications. He acknowledged his role in the industry, saying that tech has long pushed to "monetize your attention." "We've essentially tried to monetize all of your waking hours with something, some form of ads, some form of entertainment, some form of subscription that is completely antithetical to the way humans traditionally work with respect to long thoughtful examination of principles," Schmidt said. Research suggests that our attention spans are declining — partially due to tech. According to attention researcher psychologist Gloria Mark, the average attention span on a computer screen is just 47 seconds. Two decades ago, it was 2.5 minutes. Schmidt also said that notifications and commoditized attention has challenged relaxation. "My favorite are these digital apps that make you relax," he said. "The correct thing to do to relax is to turn off your phone, right? And then relax in a traditional way for, you know, 70,000 human years of existence." Schmidt declined to comment further on the topic when reached by Business Insider. Meditation app makers pushed back on Schmidt's remarks. "Not all screen time is created equal," a spokesperson for Calm told BI. "Telling young people to simply 'turn off their phone' isn't realistic or helpful," said Headspace's chief clinical officer, Jenna Glover. "True digital wellness isn't about going backwards 70,000 years, it's about moving forward with intention."
India Today
2 days ago
- Business
- India Today
Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt says AI is not a bubble, but a whole new industrial structure
Eric Schmidt, former CEO and chairman of Google, knows a thing or two about bubbles. After all, he was leading Google when the company was navigating the chaotic aftermath of the dot-com bubble burst in the early 2000s. At that time the internet was seen as a revolutionary technology, which quickly saw billions of dollars of investment. However, everything fell apart with a few years as investors did not get the expected profits. Now, many analysts are predicting that the hype around AI may meet a similar fate. But Schmidt does not believe history is repeating at the RAISE Summit in Paris, Schmidt dismissed growing concerns that the AI boom is headed for a comparable crash. 'I think it's unlikely, based on my experience, that this is a bubble,' Schmidt said. 'It's much more likely that you're seeing a whole new industrial structure' (via Business Insider).Schmidt's comments come at a time when AI is the hot topic and investors are once again all in, eager to stake their money on this new revolutionary technology. Since the debut of ChatGPT in late 2022, major tech firms have funnelled billions into AI development, talent acquisition, and infrastructure. Companies like OpenAI, Google, and Meta are at the forefront, racing to secure top AI talent and build the infrastructure necessary to reach superintelligence first. According to reports, the global AI market, estimated at $189 billion in 2023, is projected to swell to a staggering $4.8 trillion by 2033. While there is plenty of curiosity and hope, many are questioning whether AI is being overhyped, and whether it might face the same fate as the dot-com era, potentially triggering a market crash. At that time, the internet was seen as a revolutionary technology, prompting investors to pour money into internet companies in anticipation of massive future profits. However, by 2000–2001, with few profits in sight, the bubble burst and it wiped out trillions in Global Management's chief economist, Torsten Slok, recently warned that the current AI surge may represent an even larger bubble than the dot-com era. 'The top 10 companies in the S&P 500 today are more overvalued than they were in the 1990s,' Slok wrote in a note published on contrast, Schmidt points to the hardware demands of AI as a sign of its long-term viability. 'You have these massive data centres, and Nvidia is quite happy to sell them all the chips,' he said in Paris. 'I've never seen a situation where hardware capacity was not taken up by software.'No overcapacity, limited by electricitySchmidt acknowledges that many are concerned about 'overbuilding' and the risk of 'overcapacity in two or three years.' However, he sees this more as a normal cycle of ups and downs, rather than evidence of an impending collapse. 'That's a classic bubble, right?' Schmidt quipped, referring to those who believe their own firms will survive while others fail. 'If you believe that those are going to be the defining aspects of humanity, then it's under-hyped and we need even more,' he Schmidt has also addressed the challenges of AI and what he believes could be the biggest obstacle to building superintelligence. In a recent episode of the Moonshots podcast with Peter Diamandis and Dave Blundin, Schmidt identified electricity — not chips or money — as the true limiting factor for AI's progress. 'AI's natural limit is electricity, not chips,' he said, warning that the US may need an additional 92 gigawatts of power to support future AI a LinkedIn post, he wrote: 'It is reasonable to predict that we are going to have specialised AI savants in every field within five years. Now imagine their capabilities and how they will change society and our day-to-day lives.'- Ends
