Here’s everything you need to know about everything that was announced at Google I/O 2024…
- Google Enters the “Gemini Era” with AI-Powered Products and Services
- Gemini Updates
- Search: Google Goes ALL In on AI In SERPs
- Workspace: Enhancing Productivity with AI Assistance
- Gemini App: Personalized AI Experiences at Your Fingertips
- AI Features Coming To Android
- Developers Get Gemini 1.5 Pro and Gemini 1.5 Flash
- Google Addresses Risks Associated With AI Models & Usage
- Final Thoughts
Google I/O 2024 has kicked off and it is ALL about AI, as you’d expect. Whether you’re a fan of our current LLM-based AI systems, Claude, ChatGPT, or Gemini, matters not. In 2024, you will not be able to escape.
Google is bringing AI, in one form or another, to all of its core products, including Search, Workspace, Android, and even apps like Photos.
The biggest thing announced, however, for most people will be the full-role out of Google’s Search Generative Experience (SGE), now called AI Overviews, in the USA. This is a bold, risky move for Google. Messing with your core product, the thing most people know you for, is always fraught with downsides.
Add in the fact that LLMs like SGE which, if we’re totally honest, are just fancy web-scrapers, are prone to getting things wrong and making stuff up – as anyone that has used them knows.
Applying this model to its core product (search), could see Google finding itself in hot water not just with its users but all regulation authorities for everything from publishing misinformation to downright copyright theft.
Google Enters the “Gemini Era” with AI-Powered Products and Services
Google has announced a sweeping array of artificial intelligence (AI) initiatives at its annual I/O developer conference, signaling a new era the company calls “Gemini.”
The tech giant is integrating AI capabilities across its entire product line, from its flagship search engine to its Android operating system, marking a significant shift in how users interact with Google’s services.
Gemini Updates
At the heart of this transformation is Gemini, an advanced AI model that can understand and generate content across multiple formats, including text, images, video, and computer code.
Gemini 1.5 Pro, the latest version of the model, boasts cutting-edge performance and can process a staggering 1 million pieces of information at once, allowing for more comprehensive and contextual responses to user queries.
The model’s popularity among developers is evident, with over 1.5 million developers already using Gemini in their applications.
Search: Google Goes ALL In on AI In SERPs
Google’s search engine, used by billions worldwide, is undergoing a significant revamp powered by Gemini.
The new “Search Generative Experience” will provide users with direct answers to their questions, drawing from a wide range of online sources.
This feature, initially rolling out in the United States, will soon expand to other countries.
Additionally, users can now search their Google Photos using natural language queries, making it easier to find specific memories.
Workspace: Enhancing Productivity with AI Assistance
The company’s productivity suite, Workspace, is also getting an AI upgrade.
Gemini 1.5 Pro will offer users assistance with tasks like email composition and data analysis.
For example, Gmail will soon be able to summarize lengthy email threads and provide contextual smart replies.
Workspace will also automate repetitive workflows, such as extracting receipt data from email attachments and organizing it into spreadsheets.
Moreover, Google is developing a virtual AI teammate for each Workspace user to assist with collaborative tasks.
Gemini App: Personalized AI Experiences at Your Fingertips
Google is introducing “Gems,” a new feature in the Gemini app that allows users to create personalized AI experts on any topic of their choice.
The Gemini Advanced version will provide access to the powerful Gemini 1.5 Pro model and data analysis capabilities.
An upcoming trip planning feature will use multimodal inputs, such as text and images, to generate personalized travel itineraries.
Later this year, Gemini Advanced will be able to process up to 2 million pieces of information simultaneously, further enhancing its capabilities.
AI Features Coming To Android
Android, the world’s most popular mobile operating system, is also getting an AI makeover.
Google is rebuilding Android with AI at its core, enabling a new generation of intelligent experiences.
AI-powered search will be deeply integrated into the operating system, allowing users to quickly find information across their devices. Gemini will become a foundational part of the Android experience, enabling features like voice conversations and video understanding.
Gemini Nano, a compact version of the AI model, will run directly on Android devices, enabling faster, more private, and offline AI experiences.
Developers Get Gemini 1.5 Pro and Gemini 1.5 Flash
For developers, Google is releasing Gemini 1.5 Pro and a new model called Gemini 1.5 Flash.
The latter is optimized for low-latency applications and comes at a lower cost, while Gemini 1.5 Pro excels at complex reasoning tasks.
The company is also launching Gemma 2, a significant upgrade to its open-source AI model, featuring a powerful new model with 27 billion parameters.
Google Addresses Risks Associated With AI Models & Usage
As AI becomes more prevalent, Google is prioritizing responsible development.
The company is addressing potential risks through extensive testing, expert input, and misuse prevention measures. It is expanding its SynthID watermarking technology to text and video, enabling the detection of synthetic media and misinformation.
Google is also introducing LearnLM, a family of AI models focused on education and learning, and partnering with educational institutions to develop generative AI tools for personalized learning.
Final Thoughts
Google I/O 2024 has come to a close, and one thing is abundantly clear: artificial intelligence (AI) is the driving force behind the company’s vision for the future. From the powerful Gemini model to the integration of AI across its core products, Google has made it evident that AI will play a crucial role in shaping our interactions with technology in the years to come.
Throughout the conference, Google showcased how AI is being woven into the fabric of its most popular offerings. Search, the company’s flagship product, is undergoing a significant transformation with the introduction of the Search Generative Experience (SGE) in the United States. This move marks a bold step forward in how users engage with information, as the AI-powered system aims to provide more direct, contextual answers to queries.
However, the integration of AI into Search is not without its risks. Large Language Models (LLMs) like SGE, which essentially function as sophisticated web-scrapers, have a tendency to generate incorrect or fabricated information. This propensity for error is well-known among users of popular AI assistants like Claude, ChatGPT, and Gemini. By applying this technology to its core product, Google is taking a calculated gamble that could potentially backfire, leading to dissatisfied users and regulatory scrutiny for issues ranging from the spread of misinformation to copyright infringement.
