Google Bard to become ‘Gemini’ on February 7 with Android app

The end of Google Assistant? Google prepares to launch rebranded Bard AI on Android

However, the tech giant hasn’t revealed when these capabilities will be available. Gemini Pro will first power text-based prompts in Bard to start, Hsiao said, but it will expand to multimodal support — meaning texts and images or other modalities — in the coming months. These are just a few of Google’s AI innovations that are enabling many of the products billions of people use every day.

AI has been the focus of my life’s work, as for many of my research colleagues. Simply type in text prompts like “Brainstorm ways to make a dish more delicious” or “Generate an image of a solar eclipse” in the dialogue box, and the model will respond accordingly within seconds. Users can also incorporate Gemini Advanced into Google Meet calls and use it to create background images or use translated captions for calls involving a language barrier. “Every technology shift is an opportunity to advance scientific discovery, accelerate human progress, and improve lives,” Google’s CEO wrote in December 2023. “I believe the transition we are seeing right now with AI will be the most profound in our lifetimes, far bigger than the shift to mobile or to the web before it.”

Apart from the renaming, the leaked changelog also showed the announcement for Gemini Advanced (which was previously believed to be Google Bard Advanced). The announcement highlighted that it will be a paid version of the chatbot, powered by Google’s most powerful foundational model, Gemini Ultra. This May, we introduced PaLM 2, our next generation large language model that has improved multilingual, reasoning and coding capabilities. We’re also using PaLM 2 to advance research internally on everything from healthcare to cybersecurity. Google first teased Bard back in February in what was seemingly a rushed response to the snowballing success of ChatGPT, a super-smart search engine/chatbot that leans on large language models (LLMs) to generate fresh content from simple prompts.

An initial version of Gemini starts to roll out today inside Google’s chatbot Bard for the English language setting. Google says Gemini will be made available to developers through Google Cloud’s API from December 13. A more compact version of the model will from today power suggested messaging replies from the keyboard of Pixel 8 smartphones. Gemini will be introduced into other Google products including generative search, ads, and Chrome in “coming months,” the company says.

Although language models can generate text that is initially coherent and grammatically correct, they tend to also confidently spew false information. The above error somehow made it past Google’s various engineering, legal, PR, and marketing depts, and found its way into a demo of Bard, right when issues of accuracy and trust are at the top of everyone’s minds. With multiple Google employees criticizing the company’s CEO’s handling of the Bard rollout, there is clearly some unrest at one of the world’s biggest companies. Workers also referenced the mass layoffs that took place last month in their messages.

Pro was added to Bard shortly after Gemini was announced and was marketed as having strong performance across a variety of tasks, such as summarizing reports and generating computer code. Ultra, which launched in February 2024, is claimed to be the fastest and most high-quality model. In addition to text, Gemini is also trained on images and sounds, making it multimodal, or capable of combining multiple types of information, such as text and images. A few months after the launches of the initial three models, Google released Gemini 1.5 Pro, which it claimed was faster-performing. To address user concerns regarding the bulk of the software, Google then released Gemini 1.5 Flash, which it claimed was a lighter weight than its predecessor.

Easily double-check responses and build on shared conversations

Any bias inherent in the training data fed to Gemini could lead to issues. For example, as is the case with all advanced AI software, training data that excludes certain groups within a given population will lead to skewed outputs. Google Gemini is available at no charge to users who are 18 years or older and have a personal Google account, a Google Workspace account with Gemini access, a Google AI Studio account or a school account. Woodward noted that the team tried to design AI Studio so even the free tier wouldn’t feel like a trial or gated product.

Recently, Google Bard received a big update that added an AI image generator to the chatbot. To make the generated images easily identifiable as AI-generated, Google used the DeepMind-created SynthID, which adds an invisible-to-the-eye digital watermark to images. Alongside, the tech giant also expanded Google Bard to more than 230 countries and territories, and said that it will now support more than 40 languages. Beyond this, we’re developing further tests that account for the novel long-context capabilities of 1.5 Pro.

So, it would be wise to expect at least a free version for the public to use and potentially a tiered payment plan similar to Chat GPT. If you already have a Google account, using Gemini is as simple as visiting the Bard website on your preferred platform and logging in. Plus, if you’re using a Workspace account, there may be limitations on what you can access. She joined the company after having previously spent over three years at ReadWriteWeb.

As we roll out the full 1 million token context window, we’re actively working on optimizations to improve latency, reduce computational requirements and enhance the user experience. We’re excited for people to try this breakthrough capability, and we share more details on future availability below. The precise date on which Bard will debut in the EU is still up in the air. Notably, the research preview for a comparable large language model (LLM), such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, has not been limited to European users for several months. All of these new features are possible because of updates we’ve made to our PaLM 2 model, our most capable yet. Based on your feedback, we’ve applied state-of-the-art reinforcement learning techniques to train the model to be more intuitive and imaginative.

In demos, Google has shown how the AI model can simultaneously process live video and audio. Google released an app version of Project Astra to a small number of trusted testers in December but has no plans for a broader release right now. The update follows a number of other improvements to Bard, since its debut just eight months ago. It can also double-check its answers to help determine if the AI is “hallucinating” — that is, when it provides a response based on false information.

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Now, generative AI is creating new opportunities to build a more intuitive, intelligent, personalized digital assistant. One that extends beyond voice, understands and adapts to you and handles personal tasks in new ways. For 50 years, scientists had been trying to predict how a protein would fold to help understand and treat diseases. Then, in 2022, we shared 200 million of AlphaFold’s protein structures — covering almost every organism on the planet that has had its genome sequenced — freely with the scientific community via the AlphaFold Protein Structure Database. More than 1 million researchers have already used it to work on everything from accelerating new malaria vaccines in record time to advancing cancer drug discovery and developing plastic-eating enzymes. As you can see in the screenshot below, the friendly introduction you get when opening the latest version (15.2) of the Google app’s APK has changed in the last few weeks.

Back in February, Googlewas forced to pause Gemini’s ability to generate images of people after users complained of historical inaccuracies. But in August, the company reintroduced people generation for certain users, specifically English-language users signed up for one of Google’s paid Gemini plans (e.g., Gemini Advanced) as part of a pilot program. Gemini’s propensity to generate hallucinations and other fabrications and pass them along to users as truthful is also a concern. This has been one of the biggest risks with ChatGPT responses since its inception, as it is with other advanced AI tools.

But it’s been a big deal at Google since our earliest days, and for good reason. It has the power to make your routine tasks easier and the power to help solve society’s biggest problems. As we celebrate our 25th birthday, we’re looking back at some of our biggest AI moments so far — and looking forward to even bigger milestones ahead of us.

On the productivity side, Bard can now export code to more places — specifically Python code to Replit, the browser-based integrated development environment. Images can be used in prompts — users can upload images with prompts (only in English for now) and Bard will analyze the photo. New options allow users to pin, rename and pick up recent conversations with Bard. And Bard’s responses can now more easily be shared with the outside world through links. As part of our bold and responsible approach to AI, we’ve proactively engaged with experts, policymakers and regulators on this expansion.

Other Ways to Use Google Gemini

Aside from accessing Google Gemini in Bard, you can also experiment with the “Nano” version of the AI model in the Google Pixel 8 Pro. Plus, the Google Cloud API includes access to Gemini for developers (starting December 13th, 2023). The DPC’s commissioner, Helen Dixon, has previously been critical of hasty bans on generative AI chatbots — calling in April for regulatory bodies to figure out how to apply the bloc’s rules to the technology before rushing in with prohibitions. Gemini lists a few suggestions on the startpage that showcase its capabilities. You may type prompts, interact with Gemini using voice, and upload images.

When given a grammar manual for Kalamang, a language with fewer than 200 speakers worldwide, the model learns to translate English to Kalamang at a similar level to a person learning from the same content. New advances in the field have the potential to make AI more helpful for billions of people over the coming years. Since introducing Gemini 1.0, we’ve been testing, refining and enhancing its capabilities. In response, the Irish regulator has asked Google to promptly respond to new concerns and thoroughly evaluate Bard’s compliance with data protection laws.

Google to rebrand AI Chatbot ‘Bard’ as ‘Gemini’, will have a free and paid app launching soon – Firstpost

Google to rebrand AI Chatbot ‘Bard’ as ‘Gemini’, will have a free and paid app launching soon.

Posted: Mon, 05 Feb 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]

Just press and hold a supported smartphone’s power button or say, “Hey Google”; you’ll see the overlay pop up. We’ll note here that theethics and legality of training models on public data, in some cases without the data owners’ knowledge or consent, are murky. Google has an AI indemnification policy to shield certain Google Cloud customers from lawsuits should they face them, but this policy contains carve-outs.

When a statement can be evaluated, you can click the highlighted phrases and learn more about supporting or contradicting information found by Search. One of the biggest benefits of Bard, an experiment to collaborate with generative AI, is that it can tailor its responses to exactly what you need. For instance, you could ask Bard to start a trip planning Doc for you and your friends, draft up your online marketplace listing, or help explain a science topic to your kids. And now, Bard is getting even better at customizing its responses so you can easily bring your ideas to life.

The entry of a new competitor — and a new technology platform — into the AI image generation space is exciting, even if the long wait makes the release feel a little anticlimactic. Tipster Assembler Debug uncovered the feature in the beta code of the Google Messages app. The AI-enhanced features are not yet available, and Assembler Debug states that it doesn’t seem to work. However, according to leaked images, you can use Bard to help you write text messages, as well as arrange a date and craft a message calling in sick to your boss, alongside other difficult conversations.

How the chatbots compare

Other images show the pop-up that appears when Assistant by Bard is enabled, allowing you to ask questions by talking, typing, or sharing photos using the three options at the bottom of the screen. Google previewed this design during its October event, at which it launched the Google Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro. As it proceeds with AI innovation, Google is also making significant plays at ensuring safe usage of the technology. On its own accord, Google unveiled an invisible watermark tool as a solution to the lingering challenge of deep fakes while pushing for political advertisers to label AI-generated content to prevent misinformation. Aside from the typical input method of speaking to the Assistant, the new integration will allow users to interact with the tool via images. According to Google, users will be allowed to upload images with the Assistant able to generate captions for the images.

So, whether you want to collaborate on something creative, start in one language and continue in one of 40+ others, or ask for in-depth coding assistance, Bard can now respond with even greater quality and accuracy. Use Bard alongside Google apps and services, easily double-check its responses and access features in more places. For enterprises, the challenge will come in using Gemini to create applications that are beyond just large language model chatbots and generative AI-defined summarization and text-based apps, he continued. While Bard initially opened for early access with an English version, starting in the U.S. and U.K. Back in March, the initial waitlist ended in May with a global rollout spanning some 180 countries and with additional support for Japanese and Korean.

We then integrate these research learnings into our governance processes and model development and evaluations to continuously improve our AI systems. As 1.5 Pro’s long context window is the first of its kind among large-scale models, we’re continuously developing new evaluations and benchmarks for testing its novel capabilities. Gemini 1.5 Pro also shows impressive “in-context learning” skills, meaning that it can learn a new skill from information given in a long prompt, without needing additional fine-tuning. We tested this skill on the Machine Translation from One Book (MTOB) benchmark, which shows how well the model learns from information it’s never seen before.

The changelog, currently with the date February 7 attached to it, directly says that “Bard is now Gemini,” and also offers some insight into Google’s reasoning. As was announced this week, “Gemini Pro” now powers Bard in all countries and languages where Bard is available. Moreover, with numerous generative AI products that vendors launched in 2023, cloud giants such as Google, Microsoft and AWS can be expected to start rebranding some of them in the coming months, Gartner analyst Chirag Dekate said. Chatbots won’t be perfect when they launch because they need interactions with users to refine their intelligence. “You don’t want your competitors getting all the feedback and improving their model if you don’t release because it isn’t perfect,” he said. Google today released a technical report that provides some details of Gemini’s inner workings.

What is ChatGPT?

All you have to do is ask Gemini to “draw,” “generate,” or “create” an image and include a description with as much — or as little — detail as is appropriate. Like most AI chatbots, Gemini can code, answer math problems, and help with your writing needs. To access it, all you have to do is visit the Gemini website and sign into your Google account. Gemini 1.0 Pro (the first version of Gemini Pro), 1.5 Pro, and Flash are available through Google’s Gemini API for building apps and services — all with free options. But the free options impose usage limits and leave out certain features, like context caching and batching.

At the same time, advanced generative AI and large language models are capturing the imaginations of people around the world. In fact, our Transformer research project and our field-defining paper in 2017, as well as our important advances in diffusion models, are now the basis of many of the generative AI applications you’re starting to see today. Google Gemini, generative artificial intelligence (AI) model and chatbot created by the search engine company Google, which uses large language models (LLMs) to “converse” with users and generate content.

• Although Bard’s inclusion in Google’s messaging app isn’t yet available and no release date has been announced, Google could decide to not continue with the project.
• The full version of GPT-4o, used in ChatGPT Plus, responds faster than previous versions of GPT; is more accurate; and includes features such as advanced data analysis.
• In May 2024, Google first offered users of Gemini Advanced access to the newer Gemini 1.5 Pro model.
• “They are rolling more advanced models out for a data-centric copilot view, which is very different from the Microsoft app-centric view,” Baier said.
• At each stage of development, we’re considering potential risks and working to test and mitigate them.

Gemini is described by Google as “natively multimodal,” because it was trained on images, video, and audio rather than just text, as the large language models at the heart of the recent generative AI boom are. “It’s our largest and most capable model; it’s also our most general,” Eli Collins, vice president of product for Google DeepMind, said at a press briefing announcing Gemini. We’ve been rigorously testing our Gemini models and evaluating their performance on a wide variety of tasks. Another similarity between the two chatbots is their potential to generate plagiarized content and their ability to control this issue. Neither Gemini nor ChatGPT has built-in plagiarism detection features that users can rely on to verify that outputs are original. However, separate tools exist to detect plagiarism in AI-generated content, so users have other options.

If this is true, it’s likely that you’ll access the new AI the same way as you would access Google Assistant; either by commanding “Hey Google”, or long-pressing the power button. One of the most exciting opportunities is how AI can deepen our understanding of information and turn it into useful knowledge more efficiently — making it easier for people to get to the heart of what they’re looking for and get things done. When people think of Google, they often think of turning to us for quick factual answers, like “how many keys does a piano have?

There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data. In ZDNET’s experience, Bard also failed to answer basic questions, had a longer wait time, didn’t automatically include sources, and paled in comparison to more established competitors. Google CEO Sundar Pichai called Bard “a souped-up Civic” compared to ChatGPT and Bing Chat, now Copilot. Yes, in late May 2023, Gemini was updated to include images in its answers. The images are pulled from Google and shown when you ask a question that can be better answered by including a photo.