OpenAI员工Tibo近日爆料，谷歌早在ChatGPT问世前一年就开发出了名为LMChat的聊天产品[1]。据Tibo介绍，该产品的功能体验已经非常接近ChatGPT，但谷歌高管最终选择放弃发布[1]。Tibo曾是该项目的参与者，如今已正式加入OpenAI[1]。
谷歌放弃发布LMChat的主要原因是担心其会直接冲击谷歌搜索业务[1]。Tibo表示，虽然该项目由DeepMind参与研发，但DeepMind权限不足以做出发布决策，最终在高管的权衡下被搁置[1]。2024年结束近九年谷歌生涯后，Tibo正式进入OpenAI[1]。
与此同时，谷歌还在2024年中期陆续失去多位核心AI人才[1]。6月18日，Transformer论文核心作者Noam Shazeer宣布加入OpenAI[1]；6月19日，DeepMind副总裁、2024年诺贝尔化学奖得主John Jumper宣布加入Anthropic[1]；6月24日，Gemini核心贡献者Jonas Adler和Alexander Pritzel也宣布加入Anthropic[1]。值得注意的是，谷歌曾在2024年花费27亿美元收购了Noam Shazeer所在的Character.AI，但仅两年后他就选择离职[1]。
Tibo, a former leader of Codex who previously worked on Google DeepMind's LMChat project, has revealed that Google developed a conversational AI product with capabilities closely comparable to ChatGPT approximately one year before ChatGPT's public release [1]. Despite the advanced state of LMChat's functionality, Google's leadership declined to launch the product, citing concerns that it would directly undermine Google's search business and advertising revenue [1]. Tibo, who spent nearly nine years at Google before joining OpenAI in 2024, was a key participant in the LMChat initiative [1].
The decision to shelve LMChat reflected internal organizational constraints as well as strategic concerns [1]. Google has subsequently experienced a significant exodus of AI talent. On June 18, Noam Shazeer, a core author of the Transformer paper, announced his departure to join OpenAI [1]. The following day, John Jumper, vice president of DeepMind and the 2024 Nobel Prize laureate in Chemistry, announced he would join Anthropic [1]. On June 24, both Jonas Adler and Alexander Pritzel, key contributors to Google's Gemini project, similarly announced their moves to Anthropic [1]. Google had acquired Character.AI, where Shazeer was based, for $2.7 billion in 2024 [1].
