C_NCENTRATE 931: GoogleAI (everything), EV business models, sulking, AI girlfriend subs +++
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DID GOOGLE JUST TORPEDO SEARCH?
After a previously shocking week, Google needed I/O to reset expectations about Google’s position in the AI market. Google swung and did not miss. The pivotal I/O saw AI mentioned no less than 140 times in 120 minutes.
The big news came from a new large language model called PaLM2, which features massively improved multilingual, reasoning, and coding capabilities. Google then went on to explain exactly how they did this. Just kidding! Like OpenAI the secret sauce is firmly under wraps because that’s how ‘everything at stake’ this market has become. PaLM 2 will be available in four sizes with animal-inspired naming (Gecko, Otter, Bison, and Unicorn). PaLM2 is already powering 25 Google products, including the new, now free and available in +180 countries ChatGPT competitor, Bard.
The big news still being unpacked by smart cookies around the globe regards search. The $162.45 billion part of Google’s $279.81 billion total revenue big. The change? Google wants search to feel more like a helper than you reading links. Take a look:
In other words, the blue links are still there, but they are buried deep down. Available in the US through Labs, Google wants to pull from sources to create a better response rather than you doing it all yourself. What this exactly means for journalism and publishers is unclear, to put it mildly. How people will get traffic, authority, and links is also unclear. The move is a huge change for the internet, and it is the internet. Why? Google commands 91% of search traffic, meaning they are now, more than ever, the maker and breaker of publishers. Expect a lot more fallout from this as details emerge.
Google wasn’t done there though, also announced at I/O included:
- PaLM2, Pathways Language Model, a new large language model (groundbreaking), including a medical-specific version (Med-PaLM2)
- Rebrands for AI tools for Docs and Gmail, now called ‘Duet AI’ in Workspace
- ‘Perspectives’, a new search section that shows individual people takes on subjects
- A new coding tool (GitHub CoPilot competitor)
- Watermarks for AI images (super smart)
- Project Tailwind, an “AI-first notebook” experiment that pulls information from users' Google Drive documents, available via a US-only waitlist
- Generative AI wallpapers, coming exclusively to Pixels in June, and Magic Compose, a feature in Messages for Android that auto-suggests responses
- Wear OS4 for Pixel Watch
- Immersive View for Routes in Google Maps, offering traffic simulations, parking, and more, starting in 15 cities including NYC, London, and Paris
- Pixel Fold for $1799 (not a typo)
- New security features including Dark Web security checks
- Google Bard (ChatGPT competitor) is free and available in 180 countries but not in the EU or Canada; Google says the chatbot will be made available “consistent with local regulations”.
- A ‘Labs’ webpage where users can join waitlists to test the company's early feature and product ideas, including Search and Workspace AI tools
- Google Pixel 7a, Google Tablet (with speaker for $499) and a new Google Home app
- Universal Translator, an experimental service that redubs a video into a new language and synchronises the speaker's lips to match the new audio (insane)
- New features for Android in-car experiences
- A slimmed-down version of Project Starline (3D chat)
- Updates to ‘Find my Device’ (akin to Amazon’s Sidewalk and Apple’s FMD)
- MusicLM will be open to anyone (watch out, music world)
OpenAI’s response? Sam Altman announced Plugins will open to everyone who pays them from next week, something people were not expecting for a much longer time… Subscribe to WDODTW for the full analysis of this move.
Watch the I/O keynote here:
SO WHAT?
__ DO __ Know that in the short term, this will all make creatives and marketers sad, but know that beyond the immediate impacts, the technologies still don’t know what they are doing. We are nowhere near AGI, and that’s ok, but the board is filling up, and real progress is being made (now sadly/worryingly behind the scenes). Google remains the research king, while OpenAI may be the media darling. The question is whether Google positioned OpenAI as an underdog/David/untrustworthy player, which will add to Google’s media issues or has Sundar and co. done enough to cement itself as the leader/more interesting character (or a massive enemy again)? One thing is clear, understanding how to harness AI for yourself and your business - beyond prompt engineering - has never been more important. // __ DON’T __ Ignore that recent moves have made Google share less and less of its AI research, which is not good for humanity at large. As governments and organisations are slow to regulate the arena, mistakes and bad outcomes are increasingly likely to happen as companies jostle for supremacy. Right now, everyone is happy in their separate sandboxes, but Google has a lot more to lose (and protect). Equally, the open-source community building on top of these LLMs might be sweating as Google (and OpenAI etc) introduces new models meaning old ones could be pulled the plug at any moment. No one said they’ll be available forever. Something that might account for why global AI funding has fallen to $5.4B in 2023, a 43% drop QoQ.
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/// TRY: A helpful set of tools that are designed to help neurodivergent folks. [Goblin Tools]
/// WATCH: A collection of the world’s best creative’s creative work. [The Index]
/// BUY: Fold laptop stand, compact, beautiful and perfect for remote work. [Native Union]
/// WATCH: The on-demand version of TBD Conference ‘Materia’. [Newcon]
The future EV business models are starting to show up. Pay for speed? /4 mins
Meta wants to use AI to generate bespoke ads. /5 mins
A Snap-fluencer created a $1-a-minute AI girlfriend you can rent. /5 mins
Europe’s largest 3D-printed building takes 140 hours to print. /7 mins
The number of people without healthcare in the US is at its lowest rate ever. /6 mins
The EU’s population is down 500k, the average age is now 44.4. /5 mins
A Japanese student has created working cyborg Doc Octopus ‘arms’. /4 mins
Don’t sleep on the Metaverse because you’re obsessed with AI. /4 mins
Why sulking feels good. /9 mins
Just 11% of people in the US now smoke (all-time low/46% in 60’s). /3 mins