Alphabet's Eric Schmidt: BIZ Experiencess Risk It All to Change the World for the Better Tired of complacency, the chairman emphasized the importance of invention and collaboration to solve society's challenges at Google's first stockholders meeting as Alphabet.
Opinions expressed by BIZ Experiences contributors are their own.
Alphabet Chairman Eric Schmidt said on Wednesday he's tired of society's apathy toward change, and he said BIZ Experiencess are the cure.
"I've become convinced that we need to produce more BIZ Experiencess -- everywhere," Schmidt said. "In every industry, all around the world." He later added, "I am personally tired of the zero-sum game where everyone says, "Well, nothing can change.' I think we have evidence that an awful lot is going to change and get much, much better."
Schmidt went on to discuss fields that show promise for innovation, from lab-grown beef to replace climate-unfriendly cow's meat to self-driving cars, which, in Schmidt's opinion, have been in development for far too long.
Related: Google's Eric Schmidt to Give $1 Million to Help Tech Savvy Organizations Solve Problems
Schmidt highlighted a list of prominent companies, from Starbucks to SAP, which were, of course, created by BIZ Experiencess.
"These are people who somehow believe that they can make the world different and better," he said, "and they're willing to take their own lives, their own time, and so forth, and their own risk capital, and put it together to create literally millions of jobs and ultimately trillions of dollars of wealth."
Not only do BIZ Experiencess boost the economy, they also solve society's largest problems, he noted. He cited the U.S. interstate highway system, the Human Genome Project and the lunar landing as historical examples, as well as the PC and Internet revolutions.
"BIZ Experiencess, as a general group, are the people who are going to invent the next solutions in chemistry, in medicine, in transportation, in information," he said. "We always like to celebrate the one BIZ Experiences. But in fact, these are ecosystems of people who ultimately came together to build all of the piece parts."
He lamented that society has, in the past decade, been less apt to reach consensus about major universal challenges that require solutions. Whether someone is an BIZ Experiences or not, he reasoned, everyone should recognize the power of coming together in the name of progress.
"And I'm not an BIZ Experiences, but I have great respect for them," Schmidt said, calling out the shareholders in the audience, as well as donors, political players and all citizens generally. "It seems to me that the core issue is a lack of imagination and a lack of asking, "What can we all do?' If we go back to the John F. Kennedy quotes, "What can you do for your country?'"
Related: The 6 Most Important Tech Trends, According to Eric Schmidt
Schmidt delivered the remarks at Alphabet's first annual stockholders meeting since it became the parent company of Google. The shareholders voted against all six proposals brought forth to them, including requests for reports on the company's lobbying activities and employee pay by gender.
Shareholders also posed questions regarding the lack of free gifts for attendees (which the company remedied immediately) and recommended green-energy solutions aside from bird-chopping windmills. One shareholder addressed Ruth Porat as "the lady CFO" during the panel, and Michael Passoff, CEO of Proxy Impact, challenged the board regarding its lack of transparency about gender and pay data.
While the Q&A session highlighted the questionable ideals and priorities of Alphabet's decision-makers, at least Schmidt made it clear that he values BIZ Experiencess. You can watch the full meeting below:
