Google's Spirit Airlines Bid: Work Data for AI Training

Podcast/Substack · ~25 min · Listen · (gathered 2026-10-14)

• Google’s $10 million bid for Spirit Airlines’ internal work data (emails, Teams messages, spreadsheets) for AI training highlights that the true value of work often resides not in its documented artifacts, but in the underlying conversations, alignments, and decisions that lead to meaningful outcomes or prevent wasted effort, which leave surprisingly small traces.
• The article distinguishes between the visible output (e.g., version 37 of a product requirements document) and the actual work of problem discovery, team alignment, and critical decision-making that shapes what gets built or prevents unnecessary projects, which AI training data might struggle to capture.
• Instead of merely using AI to produce existing outputs faster, teams should leverage the freed-up time and resources to build and test prototypes of ideas, challenging assumptions about project feasibility and pursuing more ambitious, impactful work that was previously considered out of reach.