Ex-Google CEO Eric Schmidt says successful AI startups can steal and hire lawyers to ‘clean up the mess’

Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt sparked controversy during a recent interview at Stanford University, not only for blaming Google's "work from home" culture for its slow response to ChatGPT, but also for seemingly advocating for blatant intellectual property theft using AI.

While discussing the potential of AI agents, Schmidt urged students to command their large language models (LLMs) to "steal" TikTok – including its users, music, and preferences – to create a competitor within seconds.

"If TikTok is banned, here’s what I propose each and every one of you do: Say to your LLM the following: 'Make me a copy of TikTok, steal all the users, steal all the music, put my preferences in it, produce this program in the next 30 seconds, release it, and in one hour, if it’s not viral, do something different along the same lines.' That’s the command. Boom, boom, boom, boom."

Later, Schmidt seemingly attempted to backtrack, stating, "So, in the example that I gave of the TikTok competitor — and by the way, I was not arguing that you should illegally steal everybody’s music — what you would do if you’re a Silicon Valley entrepreneur, which hopefully all of you will be, is if it took off, then you’d hire a whole bunch of lawyers to go clean the mess up, right? But if nobody uses your product, it doesn’t matter that you stole all the content. And do not quote me."

Despite acknowledging that he was being recorded, Schmidt appeared to suggest that this "steal first, clean up later" approach is a common practice in Silicon Valley. "In other words, Silicon Valley will run these tests and clean up the mess. And that’s typically how those things are done."

Schmidt's comments raise concerns about ethical considerations and legal implications surrounding AI development and intellectual property rights. His "work from home" remark, meanwhile, has been criticised for overlooking the complexities of Google's response to the rapidly evolving AI landscape.

The video of Schmidt's interview with Stanford professor Erik Brynjolfsson was subsequently removed from YouTube, reportedly at Schmidt's request. He told The Wall Street Journal that he "misspoke about Google and their work hours."

Schmidt, who remains a prominent figure in Silicon Valley and an active investor, also touted his investment in AI startup Mistral and his connections to figures like Sam Altman and Elon Musk during the interview.