Our team recently had the opportunity to tour the Googleplex and spend an evening with professors from CalTech. What is the Googleplex you ask? It is the corporate headquarters of Google (parent company, Alphabet, Inc.) which occupies dozens of buildings encompassing millions of square feet of office space in Mountain View, California. During the afternoon and evening program, we had a peek inside the Google work process, how they assimilate and train new employees, and the measures they take to keep their employees engaged. Food, snacks and other creature comforts abound! Whether by necessity, due to the high cost of living and low availability of housing nearby, Google even has on site laundry facilities.
After a casual dinner, we then heard numerous presentations on the CalTech and Google programs to expand the artificial intelligence field. From assisting physicians in identifying different cornea diseases, to driving an automobile around town, artificial intelligence continues its progress. Of particular interest to us was the amount and variety of data processing expertise and computing power required to have a sufficient data set for these initiatives. A very interesting program that took us out of our everyday routine and gave us a look at how “big-tech” and the academic world are partnering together. Very enlightening!