In a leaked internal memo, a Google exec expressed serious fears about losing the ongoing AI arms race — but the competition that the exec fears most, according to an NBC report, might be a little unexpected. “We’ve done a lot of looking over our shoulders at OpenAI,” reads the memo, which a Google spokesperson confirmed as authentic to NBC but cautioned were only the thoughts of one person at the company. “But the uncomfortable truth is, we aren’t positioned to win this arms race and neither is OpenAI.” “I’m talking, of course, about open source. Plainly put, they are lapping us,” it continued. “While our models still hold a slight edge in terms of quality, the gap is closing astonishingly quickly.” In other words, according to this exec, though Google and its Silicon Valley competitors like Microsoft-slash-OpenAI and Meta still have a narrow upper hand, open-source models are quickly catching up. And that, per the memo, is reason for concern. The Google exec makes a pretty good case. Aided in large part by a major leak of Meta’s advanced language model, LLaMa, small and scrappy open-source models like AutoGPT have made major strides in recent months. And to that end, it’s one thing to have visible, tangible competition like Meta and Microsoft-slash-OpenAI. Fighting an arms race against what’s effectively the open web, where users can learn and borrow from each other and tailor development to their personal needs, is another beast entirely. “I don’t think I need something as…Leaked Google Memo Shows Fear of Losing the AI Race, But Not to the Foe You'd Think