AI workers are putting in 100-hour workweeks to win new tech arms race

on Wednesday cut roughly 600 jobs from its AI division. While round-the-clock schedules have been common among startups during various boomtimes in Silicon Valley's history, the need for extreme hours at some of the world's biggest companies has been relatively rare.

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The time between breakthroughs is down from years to "between Thursday and Friday".

(Istockphoto)

Working 0-0-2

The most-intense periods for many come while working on models or new products, when time working extends beyond the "9-9-6" schedule. That stands for 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., six days a week. One startup executive jokingly referred to the schedule as "0-0-2," meaning midnight to midnight, with a two-hour break on weekends.

The breakneck pace is concentrated among a relatively small subset of workers at different companies, many of whom are trying to improve core AI models or take emerging capabilities and embed them into new products. These small teams often work at all hours, even after many lesser-paid colleagues have gone home, workers said.

Although many said the grind has worn them down and prevented them from spending time with family and friends, they also said repeatedly that they work long hours by choice.

"You have all these good ideas, and you know it's a competition against time," Sewak said. "You don't want to let ideas go unexplored, so when you have free time, you're working on" and chasing other new ideas.