Google unveiled Gemini 2.0 – the latest generation of its AI model. Picture: Screengrab.
Google unveiled Gemini 2.0 – the latest generation of its AI model, which now supports image and audio output and tool integration for the “agentic era”.
Gemini 2.0 represents Google’s latest efforts in the tech industry’s increasingly competitive AI race, competing against rivals like tech giants Microsoft and Meta and startups like OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT.
The tech giant released the first model, Gemini 2.0 Flash this week for global developers through the Gemini API in Google AI Studio and Vertex AI.
“If Gemini 1.0 was about organizing and understanding information, Gemini 2.0 is about making it much more useful,” Google CEO Sundar Pichai said.
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Basically, Gemini 2.0 can generate images and audio, is faster and cheaper to run, and is meant to make AI agents possible.
Agentic AI, refers to AI bots that can actually go off and accomplish things on your behalf.
Google has been demoing one, Project Astra, since early this year — it’s a visual system that can identify objects, help you navigate the world, and tell you where you left your glasses.
Demis Hassabis, the CEO of Google DeepMind and the head of all the company’s AI efforts said Gemini 2.0 represents a huge improvement for Astra.
Consumers can expect Gemini 2.0 to impact Google Search and AI Overviews, with limited testing beginning next week – A public rollout is set for early 2025.
Google is also launching Project Mariner, an experimental new Chrome extension that can quite literally use your web browser for you.
The company is also launching Jules, an agent specifically for helping developers find and fix bad code, and a new Gemini 2.0-based agent that can look at your screen and help you better play video games.
Hassabis called the game agent “an Easter egg” but pointed to it as the sort of thing a truly multimodal, built-in model can do for you.
“We firmly believe that the only way to build AI is to be responsible from the start and we’ll continue to prioritize making safety and responsibility a key element of our model development process as we advance our models and agents, Hassabis said.
Gemini users globally can access a chat optimized version of 2.0 Flash experimental by selecting it in the model drop-down on desktop and mobile web and it will be available in the Gemini mobile app soon.
Google said with this new model, users can experience an “even more helpful Gemini assistant” adding that they will expanding Gemini 2.0 to more Google products early next year.
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