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Tech giant Google announced a slew of new features powered by artificial intelligence (AI) during its annual Google I/O conference, with updated AI technology set to roll out to its mainstream platforms.
The annual Google I/O conference took place in California on May 10, where CEO Sundar Pichai gave a keynote address on the company’s most significant AI stack updates, among other announcements.
Google shows its hand
The Path Language Model (PaLM) was introduced to Google last August. Since then, developers have used the language learning model to create generative AI-related applications such as the popular chatbots.
Google has updated its model with “PaLM 2” which boasts improved capabilities in reasoning, coding and multilingualism as the model has been trained on more complex and diverse subjects.
PaLM 2 will be released in various sizes – one iteration of the model can be deployed on mobile phones.
Google said that the new PaLM is the basis for more than 25 applications, and showed off two specialized models. Med-PaLM 2 for medical applications and Sec PaLM 2 for cybersecurity use.
Bing wins? – Google Search will get AI backup soon
Google’s flagship search product is getting AI-assisted backup as Microsoft rival Bing beat out Google when it integrated OpenAI’s ChatGPT as part of its search engine.
This feature, actually called Search Generative Experience (SGE), will have a limited experimental run for US registered users for testing before Google considers a wider rollout.
The tool appears to collate information from web pages and deliver it as a ChatGPT-like response in Google searches above the actual search results as per the product demo.
SEO is about to change forever.
Above the fold in Google search results will be completely filled by generative AI result. pic.twitter.com/K5xDII0bBi
— Pete (@nonmayorpete) May 10, 2023
It also provides information about the products they are looking for when users use the “purchase” option in the search. In a demo provided by Google, the model gave advice on what aspects to look for in a bike when a user searched for e-bikes, for example.
Google’s bard gets stronger
Bard – Google’s answer to ChatGPT – was part of the products that received PaLM 2 processing, gaining enhanced features and wider deployment.
The conversational AI model was launched about two months ago, but only in the US and UK, now it has been deployed in more than 180 countries, and that’s not all.
Part of Bard’s update includes improvements to its coding capabilities and repertoire, Google has also improved its quotes with a bot highlighting where it pulled a particular code from.
AI imaging tools from graphics software company Adobe will also soon be integrated into Bard, allowing it to create images from a prompt similar to similar popular tools.
Mail, Documents, Maps and more get artificial intelligence
Many other Google products have also received PaLM 2 support, and Pichai hosted a series of demos showing off the new AI-powered features in Google Maps, Docs, Mail, and Photos.
One of the demos showed an artificial intelligence version of Gmail’s “Smart Compose” feature that can automatically generate email replies with a hint.
Related: Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis says we could have AGI ‘in the next few years’
It can also be enhanced to make text more formal, verbose, or concise, and appears to pull data from an email thread to increase replies.
A similar “Magic Compose” product is coming to Google’s Android phones, with AI-generated responses that appear to help make a message convey a “desired atmosphere” like “chill” or “Shakespeare.”
soon, @Android will be able to give your *compose-itions* an extra spark of personality. Magic Compose, a new Messages feature powered by generative AI, helps you transform your text message to your desired vibe before you hit send → https://t.co/ZkpSB2E7Hd #GoogleIO pic.twitter.com/GCoqXbIFBB
— Google (@Google) May 10, 2023
Gemini may slip PaLM with even newer AI
Even though PaLM 2 has just launched, Google is also working on a decidedly more advanced big language model called “Gemini” to replace it, or at least provide a different option.
Gemini is still in training, but Pichai said Google is “already seeing impressive multi-modal capabilities that weren’t seen in previous models.”
He added that after “fine tuning and thorough safety testing,” Gemini, like PaLM 2, will also be released in various sizes and with various capabilities.
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