Google’s ChatGPT challenger nears commercial launch

Google (NASDAQ: GOOGL) could be releasing its most powerful generative artificial intelligence (AI) offering in the near future after allowing a select number of companies early access to the offering, according to a report by The Information.

Dubbed Gemini, Google’s conversational AI model is set to challenge OpenAI’s ChatGPT dominance in the ecosystem with several functionalities under its belt. Per the report, Gemini will operate as a multimodal large language model, allowing it to receive text, image, and audio prompts.

While ChatGPT has garnered massive success since its launch, Google is reportedly eager to disrupt the AI ecosystem’s equilibrium with Gemini’s multimodal capabilities.

“Gemini was created from the ground up to be multimodal,” said Google CEO Sundar Pichai. “While still early, we’re already seeing impressive multimodal capabilities not seen in prior models.”

Experts have described Google’s decision to allow early access to Gemini to select firms as proof that the AI model is nearing its commercial launch. There are speculations that Google could incorporate Gemini into its consumer services and sell it to enterprises through its cloud unit.

The decision to put a price on Gemini is expected to net Google a fortune as several entities are seeking to increase their investments in AI. Google’s first attempt to rival ChatGPT via Bard as a free-to-use offering faltered following a botched launch involving erroneous facts around the James Webb telescope.

After a series of regulatory challenges regarding its launch in the European Union, Google has learned poignant lessons in rolling out AI products. Pundits say that aside from being multimodal, Google’s Gemini may seize a large chunk of the market given its integration with Google’s real-time search index.

Optimists suggest that Gemini could surpass ChatGPT regarding code generation abilities, with Google’s “ecosystem approach” expected to give it a leading edge. However, Pichai continues to play down reports of a massive AI showdown between Google and OpenAI.

“In cricket, there’s a saying that you let the bat do the talking,” said Pichai. “We have been innovating on AI, and also applying AI to search, every year.”

A pledge for uniform AI standards

Despite being on trial for antitrust violations, Google is not slowing down on its AI ambitions, reeling from the highs of an AI-powered anti-money laundering (AML) tool for financial institutions. Google has since announced internal efforts to ensure the safe use of AI technologies with several tools to identify AI-generated content.

The technology giant confirmed that in the future, it will “watermark” AI-generated content from its models without compromising on image quality. The company added that it will rely on metadata to give content creators “additional context” with original files.

Google’s decisions are coming on the heels of fears of AI disruptions to key sectors of the economy, including the electoral process, finance, Web3, finance and security. Other AI developers have pledged to maintain voluntary safeguards in their AI offerings as regulators push for greater controls.

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