Google is driving next-generation AI while keeping off the specter of separation

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE, Associated Press Technology Writer

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Google unleashed one other wave of artificial intelligence on Wednesday aimed toward handling more of the work and considering of humans as the corporate tries to remain on the leading edge of technology while combating regulatory threats to its empire to ward off.

Google's next generation of AI is bundled under the package Gemini umbrella introduced a yr ago. Google sees its release of Gemini 2.0 as a springboard for AI agents designed to interpret images displayed via a smartphone, perform a wide range of tedious tasks, remember conversations consumers have with people, help video game players plan Strategies to assist and even accomplish the duty of conducting online searches.

In a blog postGoogle CEO Sundar Pichai predicted that the technology included in Gemini 2.0 will “understand more about the world around you, think several steps ahead and take action on your behalf, under your supervision.” An analogous goal is pursued by stubborn competitors akin to OpenAI with its ChatGPT technology and industry giants akin to Microsoft with a wide range of similar tools in its Windows software.

Much of Google's latest AI technology will initially be reserved for test groups and subscribers who pay $20 a month for Gemini Advanced, but some features will likely be made available through the search engine and mobile apps. Google plans broader releases next yr that can incorporate the technology into its smorgasbord of free products, including its Chrome browser, digital maps and YouTube.

In addition to attempting to outshine OpenAI and other ambitious startups, Google can also be attempting to stay one step ahead of Apple because the pioneering company begins incorporating AI into its latest iPhones and other devices. After publication a software update While the iPhone's first batch of “Apple Intelligence” features was activated, boosting the device's Siri assistant, one other batch of the AI ​​technology got here out with a free software update, also released on Wednesday.

Google is pushing its latest AI advances, as is the US Department of Justice attempt to separate myself the Mountain View, California, company to forestall further abusive practices by its dominant search engine, which was declared an illegal monopoly by a federal judge earlier this yr as a part of a landmark antitrust case.

Among other things, Gemini 2.0 is meant to enhance the AI ​​overviews that Google highlights in its search results as a substitute of the standard listing of probably the most relevant links to web sites Earlier this yr in response to AI-powered “response engines” like Perplexity.

After the AI ​​overviews initially produced some silly suggestions including Apply glue to pizzaGoogle has refined the technology to reduce such missteps. Now the corporate's executives promise that things will get even higher with Gemini 2.0, as Pichai says it can find a way to exercise more human considering while solving more complex mathematical problems and even producing computer code. The improvements to the AI ​​overviews will initially only be made available to a test audience before being released more broadly next yr.

The technological upgrade can also be intended to provide much more intelligence and flexibility to a still-experimental universal AI agent called “Project Astra,” allowing people to have more meaningful and helpful conversations with the technology. To express its confidence, Google said it might increase the number of individuals testing Project Astra, without disclosing group size.

As a part of Gemini 2.0, Google may also begin testing an extension for Chrome called “Project Mariner” that will be activated to perform online searches and browse the outcomes so people don't need to worry about it.

If the U.S. Justice Department gets its way, Google will likely be forced to sell or spin off Chrome as punishment for using its search engine in a way that stifles competition and potential innovation. Google has derided the Justice Department's proposal as “too broad” and vowed to withstand any try and break up the corporate at federal court hearings scheduled to start next spring in Washington, D.C.

Even if that process culminates in a court order ordering a dissolution, Google could still appeal and face a lawsuit that might take years to resolve as the corporate continues its AI expansion.

“I can’t wait to see what this next era brings,” Pichai wrote in his blog post, signaling that the corporate doesn’t consider it can be deterred by regulators.

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