Google I/O 2023: A Mysterious New AI Model - Gemini

In this series of articles on Google I/O 2023, we cover how Google is unleashing the power of artificial intelligence. In this article, we talk about Gemini, the newly announced AI model by Google

Google has been making headlines with its latest innovations in artificial intelligence (AI) at the Google I/O event on May 10, 2023. One of the most anticipated announcements was the introduction of Gemini, a new language model that aims to rival ChatGPT and Bing AI with its advanced capabilities. Gemini is still in development, but it promises to be a game-changer for conversational AI and multimodal applications.

In this article, we will discuss what we know about Gemini, its capabilities, potential release date and its importance for the AI community.

Announcement of Gemini | Courtesy Google I/O

What is Gemini?

Gemini is a large machine-learning model that can understand and generate text, code, and images. It is based on a multimodal architecture, which means that it can process different types of data and combine them in meaningful ways. For example, Gemini can take a text description of an advertisement and generate a corresponding image or video. It can also take an image or a code snippet and generate a natural language explanation or summary.

Gemini is not the first language model that Google has developed. The company already has Bard, which powers its conversational AI products such as Google Assistant and Google Duplex. Bard is based on PaLM 2, a machine-learning model that can generate coherent and fluent text for various tasks and domains. However, Bard is limited to text-only data and cannot handle multimodal inputs or outputs.

How will Gemini be better than ChatGPT and Bing AI?

ChatGPT and Bing AI are two of the most popular and powerful generative language tools in the market. ChatGPT is developed by OpenAI, a research organisation backed by Microsoft and other tech luminaries. ChatGPT can generate realistic and engaging text for various purposes, such as chatbots, storytelling, and content creation. Bing AI is developed by Microsoft, which owns the Bing search engine and other online services. Bing AI can also generate high-quality text for various domains and applications, such as web search, summarisation, and question answering.

However, both ChatGPT and Bing AI have limited multi-modal abilities providing a primarily text-based service. This limits the potential for creating rich and diverse experiences for users and developers.

Gemini aims to overcome this limitation by being a truly multimodal model that can handle text, code, images and more. This gives it an edge over ChatGPT and Bing AI in terms of versatility and creativity. Gemini could create more engaging and interactive content for users, such as personalised ads, games, and art. It can also help developers with tasks such as debugging, documentation, and prototyping.

When will Gemini be released?

Gemini is still in training, which means that it is not ready for public use yet. Google CEO Sundar Pichai said that Gemini will be available at various sizes and capabilities once it is fine-tuned and rigorously tested for safety. He did not give a specific timeline for Gemini's release date, but he hinted that it will be soon.

"We’re already at work on Gemini — our next model created from the ground up to be multimodal, highly efficient at tool and API integrations, and built to enable future innovations, like memory and planning. Gemini is still in training, but it is already exhibiting multimodal capabilities never before seen in prior models. Once fine-tuned and rigorously tested for safety, Gemini will be available at various sizes and capabilities, just like PaLM 2, to ensure it can be deployed across different products, applications, and devices for everyone’s benefit,” Pichai said at the Google I/O event.

Based on Google's track record of releasing new products and features quickly, we can expect Gemini to be launched sometime in late 2023 or early 2024. However, this may depend on how well Gemini performs in terms of accuracy, efficiency, safety, and ethics.

Analysis & Conclusion

Gemini is important because it represents a new frontier in AI research and development. It shows that Google is not resting on its laurels but pushing the boundaries of what is possible with machine learning. Gemini also demonstrates Google's ambition to compete with other tech giants such as OpenAI and Microsoft in the field of conversational AI and multimodal applications.

This also sets the stage for the future of AI. It is becoming evidently clear that the future lies in Multi-model AI models that have the ability to handle multiple forms of data including text, code, images, videos, and more.

Is this the next big step towards Artificial General Intelligence? Only time will tell. As it stands today, impressive as these technologies maybe, they still face rigorous limitations.