Noam Shazeer, AI pioneer behind Google’s Gemini, now at the centre of internal controversy

Google

Noam Shazeer, one of the most influential figures in artificial intelligence and a co-creator of the Transformer model, has once again found himself in the spotlight — this time for sparking tensions within Google. The Information reports that Shazeer, who returned to Google in late 2024 through a $2.7 billion licensing deal with Character.AI, has been censored internally after making remarks that stirred controversy among employees.

The issue began when Shazeer commented on an internal Google forum discussing support for transgender and non-binary colleagues. “I do not believe that humans have an attribute called gender,” he wrote, adding, “I do not believe that G-d puts people in the wrong bodies. I do not believe that it is okay to sterilise children. You have the right to your beliefs. I do not share them.” His comments reportedly triggered backlash across internal chat channels, prompting Google to restrict his visibility on company forums.

Elon Musk, who often criticises what he calls the “woke mind virus,” publicly defended Shazeer on X, posting, “Noam is right.”

Shazeer’s history with Google stretches back to 2000, when he joined as an early employee and later became part of the pioneering Google Brain team. He co-authored the landmark paper Attention Is All You Need, which introduced the Transformer architecture — the foundation of all modern large language models, including ChatGPT and Google Gemini. He was also instrumental in building Meena, an advanced chatbot Google never released publicly. Frustrated by the decision, Shazeer left Google in 2021 to found Character.AI alongside Daniel De Freitas, creating AI avatars that emulate real and fictional personalities.

Following the AI boom triggered by ChatGPT in 2022, Google accelerated its own efforts, launching Bard (now Gemini). In 2024, Google struck a high-value licensing agreement with Character.AI, effectively bringing Shazeer and several members of his team back into the fold. Since his return, he has reportedly played a key role in shaping Gemini’s development, though his outspoken views have now caused friction inside Google.

For many within the AI community, Shazeer remains a visionary — a driving force behind the very architecture that powers today’s generative AI systems. Yet his recent comments highlight the growing cultural divide within Big Tech, where innovation and ideology increasingly collide.