Eric Schmidt said in an interview, that you can see on YouTube (see below for the link), the following: “The product that I wanted to build is a product that teaches every single human who wants to be taught in their language in a gamified way the stuff they need to know to be a great citizen in their country. Right? That can all be done on phones now. It can all be learned and you can all learn how to do it. And why do we not have that product? Right? The investment in the humans of the world is the best return always in knowledge in capability is always the right answer.”
A bit later in that interview Eric Schmidt said, when speaking of post-secondary students: “They’re responding to the economic signals, but they’re also responding to their purpose. Right? So, an example would be you care about climate, which I certainly do. If you’re a young person, why don’t you figure out a way to simplify the climate science to use simple foundation models to answer these core questions? Yeah. Why don’t you figure out a way to use these powerful models to come up with new materials, right, that allow us again to address the carbon challenge? And why don’t you work on energy systems to have better and more efficient energy sources that are not that less carbon? You see my point?”
Eric Schmidt is best known as the former CEO and executive chairman of Google, where he played a pivotal role in transforming the company from a scrappy startup into one of the most powerful tech giants in the world. Joining Google in 2001 at the request of its co-founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Schmidt brought adult supervision, operational discipline, and business acumen to a company full of brilliant engineers. Under his leadership, Google scaled rapidly, expanded globally, and launched iconic products like Gmail, Google Maps, and Chrome. Schmidt’s ability to bridge the gap between business strategy and engineering culture helped establish the “Google way” of innovation—bold, data-driven, and user-focused.
After stepping down from day-to-day operations, Schmidt turned his attention to broader issues at the intersection of technology, society, and geopolitics. He served on advisory boards, co-authored influential books on AI and the future of technology, and invested heavily in scientific research and philanthropic ventures through the Schmidt Futures initiative. Today, Eric Schmidt remains a vocal advocate for responsible innovation, particularly in the fields of artificial intelligence and national security. His career offers a compelling case study of how leadership, vision, and systems thinking can shape not just a company—but an entire era.
The YouTube video is called Ex-Google CEO: What Artificial Superintelligence Will Actually Look Like w/ Eric Schmidt & Dave B. It is on Moonshots.