Google just brought generative AI directly into Google Ads, letting marketers create search campaigns simply by chatting with an assistant. Advertisers only need to provide a landing page, and the AI automatically summarizes the content to generate headlines, keywords, and custom images. Why it matters: Google is cutting campaign setup down to minutes while laying the groundwork for ads inside its new generative search engine.
Anthropic just secured $450 million in Series C funding led by Spark Capital, backed by tech heavyweights Google, Salesforce, and Zoom. The raise boosts its total funding to $1.45 billion to fuel next-gen self-teaching algorithms and its constitutional AI safety tech. Why it matters: Big Tech is actively arming Anthropic as the premier counterweight to OpenAI.
Google is preparing to deploy its new PaLM 2 model across its advertising engine and YouTube, according to internal documents reported by CNBC. Advertisers will be able to automatically generate media assets, while YouTube creators can get AI-suggested video concepts and titles. Faced with cooling revenue growth, Google is racing to turn generative AI into a direct moneymaker.
Google just announced that Colab is adding AI coding features powered by its new Codey models. Users will soon get natural language code generation, smart autocomplete, and a built-in coding chatbot right in their notebooks. It rolls out first to U.S. paid subscribers before expanding to free users and other regions.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella just pushed back against Elon Musk's claim that Microsoft controls OpenAI through its multibillion-dollar investment. Nadella clarified that Microsoft only holds a non-controlling interest and commercial partnership, while a non-profit board steers the startup. He added that smaller players still have plenty of room to take on tech giants.
Google just introduced new features to help users identify AI-generated images, led by a tool called "About this image." It lets you see when an image was first indexed, where it first appeared, and where else it has shown up. Google is also embedding metadata labels into AI-generated files, with Midjourney and Shutterstock on board.
Google just teamed up with Taito to announce SPACE INVADERS: World Defense, an AR mobile game launching later this summer. Powered by ARCore and Geospatial Creator, it turns your local neighborhood, landmarks, and weather into a 3D alien shooting gallery.
Google just rolled out Studio Bot, a dedicated coding assistant built directly into Android Studio to generate code, fix bugs, and answer dev questions. It runs on the new Codey model derived from PaLM 2, supporting Kotlin and Java. It is currently limited to US developers on the Canary channel.
Google just revealed that Android will get generative AI wallpapers this fall, letting users generate custom backgrounds via suggested prompts. The feature uses diffusion models to create original art and adapts your phone's color theme accordingly, with 3D cinematic wallpapers coming to Pixel next month.
Google just opened Bard to over 180 countries and territories, completely scrapping its waitlist. Powered by the newly integrated PaLM 2 model, the AI chatbot adds Japanese and Korean support, dark mode, and one-click export to Gmail and Docs, with Google Lens image prompts and Adobe Firefly integrations rolling out soon.
Google just unveiled its next-gen PaLM 2 language model at I/O, powering the newly updated Bard and serving as the foundation for the company's latest AI updates. Instead of chasing pure parameter scale, PaLM 2 sharpens logic, math, and support for over 100 languages. It also spawns specialized variants like Codey and Med-PaLM 2, plus a mobile version hitting 20 tokens per second.
Google just announced the integration of WebGPU into Chrome at Google I/O, enabling web apps to tap directly into laptop and phone GPUs. The company also demoed a web-based Stable Diffusion tool generating images directly on-device. Why it matters: Shifting AI from massive cloud servers to local browsers slashes latency while keeping private data on your own machine.
Wendy's just teamed up with Google to launch 'Wendy's FreshAI,' an automated chatbot built to take drive-thru orders. Trained on internal slang like 'JBC,' the bot begins pilot testing at a Columbus, Ohio location in June with human workers monitoring the line.
Google just partnered with implant maker Cochlear and hearing research groups to develop personalized hearing devices using AI. The technology isolates and separates specific voices from background chaos, making conversations much easier to follow in crowded restaurants and transit.
Google is reportedly planning to launch its latest large language model, PaLM 2, at its developer conference this week. Internal documents show the model supports over 100 languages with advanced coding and math skills, alongside new generative experiences rolling out to Bard, Search, and Workspace. Why it matters: Google is ramping up its defense against Microsoft and OpenAI by aggressively injecting generative AI across its flagship products.
Geoffrey Hinton just warned that artificial intelligence poses an existential risk that could end up being more urgent to humanity than climate change. Unlike global warming, where the fix is simply stopping carbon emissions, Hinton argued that no one currently knows how to control advanced AI. While calling proposals for a development pause completely unrealistic, he stressed that massive resources must be poured into finding solutions immediately.
Google is working on "Project Magi" to transform its search engine beyond the classic 10 blue links, adding conversational AI and short-form video content. Facing pressure from ChatGPT and TikTok, the new design focuses on queries with no single right answer. It will initially test with one million U.S. users.
Amazon is working to give Alexa a generative AI makeover using its own internal large language models, according to leaked documents. The upgraded voice assistant aims to move beyond simple database queries to spin up personalized bedtime stories from toys in view and track down TV shows from vague descriptions. Why it matters: After heavy hardware layoffs, Amazon is betting that conversational AI can finally make Alexa proactive and profitable.
A leaked internal memo from a Google researcher claims that neither Google nor OpenAI has a moat against open source. The document argues that open-source contributors are out-innovating tech giants using efficient methods like LoRA and cheap compute. Why it matters: The era of relying solely on massive closed models may be ending as fast, nimble, community-driven alternatives close the gap.
Vice President Kamala Harris is summoning the CEOs of Google, Microsoft, OpenAI, and Anthropic to the White House this Thursday for a frank discussion on AI risks. Top administration officials will push for guardrails and ethical standards to mitigate potential fallout. Basically, Washington wants proof that these models are safe before they are unleashed to the wider public.
