Google on Tuesday showcased its latest advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) at the annual Google I/O developer event. The unveiling comes amidst heightened competition in the AI space, notably from Microsoft-backed OpenAI, whose ChatGPT has garnered significant attention since its launch in 2022.
One of the key announcements was the introduction of upgraded AI models under its Gemini 1.5 series, including Flash, promising improved speed and cost efficiency. Project Astra, a prototype AI capable of real-time interaction based on smartphone camera inputs, was also revealed, hinting at the potential for more natural voice and text assistance through Gemini Live.
Google’s foray into video generation was highlighted with the introduction of Veo, an AI model capable of creating high-resolution videos. Further, enhancements to the Gemini Pro 1.5 model aim to double its capacity to process data, making it more adept at handling large volumes of information.
In terms of hardware, Google unveiled a sixth-generation tensor processing unit (TPU), positioning it as an alternative to Nvidia's powerful processors in powering AI applications. On the software front, Google Search is set to receive AI-driven improvements for organising search results and providing AI Overviews, particularly for complex queries.
As part of its ongoing efforts, Google is experimenting with allowing users to ask questions about videos uploaded to Google Search, expanding its AI capabilities further.
