Google is reportedly working on a new artificial intelligence project called Gemini, which is expected to compete with Bing Chat and other conversational AI platforms such as ChatGPT. Google DeepMind, the company's AI research division, is developing Gemini. I first reported on Google's plans to use Gemini to compete with AI rivals.
Gemini is said to be a natural language processing system that can generate natural and engaging responses to user queries, as well as provide relevant information from various sources. Google hopes that Gemini will help it gain an edge in the growing market of voice and text-based assistants, which are becoming more popular among consumers and businesses.
What is Gemini and how does it work?
Gemini is designed to be more than a simple chatbot. It can understand the context and intent of user queries, and provide personalized and relevant answers that are not limited by predefined scripts or templates. For example, if a user asks Gemini about the weather in Buenos Aires, Gemini can not only tell the current temperature and forecast, but also suggest some activities or places to visit based on the weather and the user's preferences.
Gemini can also leverage Google's vast knowledge base and search engine capabilities to provide users with additional information, such as facts, images, videos, news articles, and more. For example, if a user asks Gemini about the latest nuclear fusion experiment from South Korea, Gemini can not only give a brief summary of the experiment, but also show some related images and videos, as well as link to some news articles and scientific papers for further reading.
Gemini can adapt to different domains and scenarios, such as travel, entertainment, education, health, and more. It can also handle multiple languages and dialects, as well as different modes of communication, such as voice, text, or gestures. For example, if a user speaks to Gemini in Spanish with an Argentine accent, Gemini can respond in the same language and accent, as well as use some local slang or idioms. If a user types to Gemini in English with emojis or abbreviations, Gemini can also reply in the same way.
Betting on Gemini to Compete with Microsoft/OpenAI
Google is reportedly scrambling to release Gemini this fall in order to catch up to rivals like OpenAI's GPT-4. Gemini is expected to be used in a variety of Google products, including its Bard chatbot, its email assistant, and its search engine. The company's bet on Gemini is a sign of the its growing interest in AI. AI is seen as a key technology for the future, and Google is determined to be a leader in this field.
Gemini is certainly not the only signal of Google's goals. The company already uses AI in its products, including the Google Bard chatbot and Search Generative Experience.
OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, has close ties to Microsoft and has been helping to spearhead the company's move to put AI on all its services. The GPT-4 LLM which is an updated version of the model that powers ChatGPT can now be found in Microsoft's Bing Chat, Microsoft 365 Copilot, GitHub Copilot, and Azure OpenAI Service.
Google has also launched its own chatbot, Bard, which is powered by a large language model called LaMDA. Bard is integrated with Google Search and can answer questions and have conversations on various topics. However, Bard is not as advanced or versatile as ChatGPT or Gemini.
To address some of these issues, Gemini aims to give more accurate and suitable answers, and to back up its factual claims with sources. Gemini will also be more open and responsible than ChatGPT, which can sometimes generate harmful or misleading outputs. Gemini is still under development and will require several months to finish. The project will have a similar budget to GPT-4, which is in the range of tens or hundreds of millions of dollars.
