The AI Extravaganza at Google I/O 2024
Plus: Ilya Sutskever, OpenAI's co-founder and chief scientist, has left the company.
Hello Engineering Leaders and AI Enthusiasts!
Welcome to the 275th edition of The AI Edge newsletter. This edition features “Google’s announcements in I/O developer conference”
And a huge shoutout to our amazing readers. We appreciate you😊
In today’s edition:
✨ Google announced a wide array of updates across its AI ecosystem
🧠 Ilya Sutskever, OpenAI's co-founder and chief scientist, has left the company
📚 Knowledge Nugget: Building AI Teachers in 2028 by
Let’s go!
Google announced a wide array of updates across its AI ecosystem
Major headlines were Project Astra, an AI agent that can see and hear users in real time, and AI teammates that can answer questions and organize data within Workspace.
Google also introduced Veo, a high-quality video generation model, and significant updates to Google Search, including expanded AI Overviews, advanced planning capabilities, and AI-organized search results.
The company launched Gemini 1.5 Pro, boasting a massive 2M context window extension, and Imagen 3, the next version of its text-to-image model. Other notable announcements included:
Gemma 2 updates: New 27-billion-parameter model launching in June
Google Play: New app discovery feature and developer tools
Android feature to detect potential scams during calls using Gemini Nano
Ask Photos: AI-powered search in Google Photos using natural language queries
Gemini in Gmail for searching, summarizing, and drafting emails
Gemini 1.5 Pro: Increased input capacity to 2 million tokens
Gemini Live: In-depth voice chats with Gemini on smartphones
Gemini Nano: Smallest AI model built into Chrome desktop client
Gemini on Android: Deep integration with Android OS and Google apps
Gemini on Google Maps: Generative AI summaries for places and areas
Tensor Processing Units (TPU): Sixth-generation Trillium chips with 4.7x performance boost
Project IDX: AI-centric browser-based development environment in open beta
Circle to Search: AI-powered feature for instant answers using gestures on Android
Pixel 8a: New smartphone with Tensor G3 chip, starting at $499
Pixel Slate: Google's Pixel Tablet is now available with or without the base
Why does it matter?
With 22 announcements, Google is making everyone a bit overwhelmed. By integrating AI across its vast ecosystem, Google aims to provide users with more personalized and innovative experiences. But Google Project Astra and Veo are not available to the public yet. This may irritate customers compared to OpenAI, which launches new products that customers can play with immediately.
Ilya Sutskever, OpenAI's co-founder and chief scientist, has left the company
Ilya Sutskever, OpenAI's co-founder and longtime chief scientist, has left the company. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced the news on X, expressing his sadness and gratitude for Sutskever's contributions. Jakub Pachocki, OpenAI's research director, will step up as a chief scientist.
Sutskever's departure comes amidst reports of disagreements with Altman over OpenAI's direction, mainly concerns about rushing AI-powered product launches at the expense of safety. The situation escalated last November when Sutskever and OpenAI CTO Mira Murati approached the company's previous board to express their concerns, leading to a brief attempt to fire Altman. However, Altman was swiftly reinstated, and much of the old board resigned.
Why does it matter?
As one of the most accomplished minds in AI, Sutskever's departure raises questions about the future of OpenAI's approach to AI development and safety. The incident also highlights the growing tensions within the AI industry between rapidly commercializing AI technologies and the need for responsible development and deployment practices.
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Knowledge Nugget: Building AI Teachers in 2028
explores a thought experiment set in 2028, where AI has progressed significantly, and the task is to build AI school teachers for Kenya using foundation models like GPT-6 or Claude-5. The process involves:Training the AI on best practices for elementary school teachers.
Designing a curriculum for a Pedagogy major.
Creating personalized lesson plans for students.
Stavisky suggests that while today's AI models aren't quite there yet, this scenario is plausible for the future of education and EdTech. He raises questions about encouraging AI developers to prioritize educational applications, ensuring the effectiveness and safety of AI tutors, and determining the best ways for human teachers to use these AI assistants.
Why does it matter?
AI can transform education, particularly in regions facing teacher shortages. If AI tutors can be developed to work effectively alongside human educators, it could greatly improve the learning experience for students and ease the burden on teachers. However, careful consideration must be given to the ethical implications and the need for human oversight for responsible AI in education.
What Else Is Happening❗
🏖️ Expedia is launching AI features, including a bot named Romi
It helps users search for hotels, build itineraries, and make changes via iMessage and WhatsApp. The company also introduces smart search, allowing travelers to find hotels based on desired features. Expedia pulls data from AccuWeather and Yelp to tailor search results and provide real-time updates. (Link)
🧬 NVIDIA and Recursion have collaborated to build BioHive-2, an AI supercomputer for drug discovery
BioHive-2 features 504 NVIDIA H100 GPUs, delivering 2 exaflops of AI performance, nearly 5 times faster than its predecessor. Powered by Recursion's massive 50-petabyte dataset and AI models like Phenom, these companies aim to simulate biology and fast-track the identification of promising drug candidates. (Link)
🚀 NASA appoints David Salvagnini, its first chief AI officer
The move aims to ensure NASA stays ahead in AI advancement and responsible use. Salvagnini will lead NASA's efforts in guiding the responsible use of AI and collaborating with other agencies, academia, and industry partners. (Link)
💰 SoftBank plans to invest $75-$150 million in Indian data center and industrial robotics
The move aligns with the Japanese tech giant's global strategy to capitalize on the power of artificial intelligence as it shifts focus from e-commerce and fintech to high-growth industries like logistics and robotics. The potential investments mark the end of a two-year hiatus in SoftBank's deal-making activities in India. (Link)
💶 Microsoft announces €4 billion investment in France to accelerate AI adoption
The tech giant will expand its cloud and AI infrastructure, launch skilling programs, and accelerate French startups through its new Microsoft GenAI Studio, positioning France as a leader in the AI revolution. It aims to train 1 million people and support 2,500 startups by 2027. (Link)
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