Google is expected to announce the integration of artificial intelligence for the company’s search engine on February 8 at 8:30 a.m. ET. Watch live on YouTube for free.
“We’re starting with AI-powered Search features that translate complex information into easy-to-digest formats so you can see the big picture, then explore more,” Google CEO Sundar Pichai wrote on Twitter on the eve of the event. Despite recent layoffs, the company remains an assertive force in Silicon Valley. The viral success of other generative AI models, notably OpenAI’s ChatGPT, has led the company to accelerate experimental research for public use.
Google has dominated the Internet search business for years, while Microsoft’s Bing has remained a distant competitor. Microsoft, an OpenAI investor, plans to incorporate generative artificial intelligence into its search engine to differentiate the experience from Google and attract more users. Will this year be a renaissance for Bing? Who knows, but users can expect to soon see more AI-generated text while navigating their search engine of choice.
Amidst all these announcements, one major question remains: Is generative artificial intelligence really ready to help you browse the web? These models are expensive to feed and hard to update, and they love to make up crap. Public engagement with technology is rapidly changing as more people try out tools, but the positive impact of generative AI on the consumer search experience is still largely unproven.
During the event, Google may release more information about one of its responses to ChatGPT, an AI service called “Bard” that uses the company’s language model for dialog applications. It’s not available to the public yet, but the company says it’s rolling out the feature to a small group for testing and that more people will be able to experience Bard in the near future.
You may be familiar with text and image AI, but these mediums are only the starting point for generative AI. Google is starting to share even more information about its research into AI audio and AI video capabilities. A slew of Silicon Valley startups are also vying for attention (and windfall investment) as more mainstream uses of large language models emerge.
Are you interested in the boom in generative artificial intelligence and want to learn even more about this nascent technology? Check out WIRED’s extensive (human-written) coverage of the topic, including how teachers are using it at school, how fact-checkers are tackling potential misinformation, and how it could change customer service forever.
