Google is making use of aggressive noncompete clauses and extended notice periods, contends former GoogDeepMinder Nando de Freitas in a recent post on X. In some cases, Google DeepMind’s employment contracts may lock an AI developer into doing nothing for as long as a year, notes Business Insider, to prevent its AI talent from moving to competing firms. That’s a long time away from working on the cutting edge in the rapidly developing world of AI.
De Freitas says the best way to avoid such contractual chains is to simply “don’t sign these contracts.” However, folks with a pressing need for a steady income flow who get offered a well-paying position might easily be swayed into signing terms they would normally turn their nose up at. We know that the FTC banned noncompletes in states like California last year, but Google’s DeepMind is UK-based, so the company probably still has some latitude to push would-be employees to sign such agreements.
