Google Sees Gemini AI Tool as a ‘Helpful Collaborator’

Google has unveiled its long-awaited Gemini, calling it its “largest and most capable AI model.”

At an event Wednesday (Dec. 6) ahead of the product’s launch, Google said Gemini is the most flexible artificial intelligence (AI) model it has created as it comes in different sizes, from one that works on smartphones to one that can work with large data centers.

“For a long time, we’ve wanted to build a new generation of AI models, inspired by the way people understand and interact with the world — an AI that feels more like a helpful collaborator and less like a smart piece of software,” said Eli Collins, vice-president of product at Google DeepMind, per a report by Bloomberg News. “Gemini brings us a step closer to that vision.”

According to that report, Android developers who wish to build Gemini-powered apps for smartphones and tablets can now sign up for the “nano” version of the AI model, which can run directly on those devices.

Google had postponed the rollout of Gemini earlier this week as the technology had issues with non-English queries. That delay, as noted here Monday (Dec. 4), was viewed as an attempt by Google to keep pace with rival OpenAI, whose ChatGPT tool is known for its advanced language processing abilities.

PYMNTS reported in August about Google’s initial plans to launch Gemini, with the idea of the AI powering its chatbot Bard, a competitor of ChatGPT, as well as enterprise applications such as Google Docs and Slides.

“While still early, we’re already seeing impressive multimodal capabilities not seen in prior models,” CEO Sundar Pichai said in a May blog post announcing the technology. “Once fine-tuned and rigorously tested for safety, Gemini will be available at various sizes and capabilities, just like PaLM 2.”

OpenAI, meanwhile, also recently had its own delay, pushing back the unveiling of its custom GPT store — originally slated for late November — to early 2024.

These product rollouts are fueling a generative AI industry that is expected to grow to $1.3 trillion by 2032.

“But rather than one single, all-knowing super-AI that is better at everything humans can do, the marketplace growth is likely to be driven and accelerated by a variety of different AIs with different strengths, each fine-tuned for diverse applications,” PYMNTS wrote last week.