Google I/O LIVE updates — Annual developer conference reveals Gemma 2 as major Android 15 and AI upgrades are unveiled
THE Google I/O conference has brought plenty of exciting news in store for consumers.
Keynote speakers like Ben Trengrove, Jingyu Shi, and Rebecca Gutteridge took to the stage to discuss what's new in Android 15, generative artificial intelligence, Jetpack, Gemini API, Google AI Studio, Gemma, Kaggle Models, and more.
Vice President at Google Josh Woodward revealed that Gemma 2 will be available next month with a new 27B parameter model.
Google shared that AI Search, which will be powered by Gemini engine, will use AI to answer complex questions - and the conference speakers ended up mentioning AI 120 times throughout the first day of the event.
Developers also revealed that Androids are getting even smarter with Gemini AI as the Android 15 is expected to focus on user privacy, security, and productivity.
Consumers can catch all content about the Google I/O conference on Google's main website and .
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OpenAI vs Project Astra
OpenAI jumped ahead of Google's annual developer event to announce its own big boosts on Monday, including an enhanced chatbot that can see photos and even speak to you like a super-charged Siri.
Now Google is hoping to win over users with a new Project Astra concept that sees everything around you using the camera on your smartphone.
It allows people to walk around and ask anything about their surroundings in real time.
For example, the tool can identify the name of parts on a piece of equipment such as a speaker that you may need to repair.
But even more shocking is the tech's ability to remember what it's seen as you walk around a room.
In a demo video, Google showed how a person asked "Where did I leave my glasses?" and the tool instantly recalled seeing them.
Recap from today
Below are some of the new features and AI upgrades Google consumers learned about at today's conference:
- Project Astra
- Gemini 1.5 Flash
- Ask photos with Gemini
- Circle to search
- Gems
- AI Chip chatbot
- Gemini Gmail
- Gemma 2
Biggest change to Google in 25 years, part three
There have also been questions around the accuracy of AI.
In February, the company apologised after its AI image generation tool refused to create images of white people even when explicitly asked.
In response to requests of images of America’s founding fathers — all white males — Google’s Gemini AI feature included women and people from ethnic minorities.
This latest move comes as Google races to keep up with OpenAI, who announced their own big AI boosts on Monday, including an enhanced chatbot that can see photos and even speak to you like a super-charged Siri.
Biggest change to Google in 25 years, part two
There have been concerns that the move could harm content makers and publishers dependent on people visiting their websites.
But Google claims the feature - known as AI Overviews - is leading to people "visiting a greater diversity of websites for help with more complex questions".
"We see that the links included in AI Overviews get more clicks than if the page had appeared as a traditional web listing for that query," said Liz Reid, VP, Head of Google Search.
"As we expand this experience, we’ll continue to focus on sending valuable traffic to publishers and creators."
Biggest change to Google in 25 years, part one
Google is making a huge change to its popular search engine by infusing AI into the results.
The tech giant has announced it will start showing AI-generated answers after an initial trial in the UK and US.
It means answers to questions will appear at the top on the search result page instead of a list of links.
Google says the feature has already been used billions of times in the experimental phase but now it's being rolled out widely.
It'll start with the US first today before launching in more countries "soon."
Event has ended
Google I/O 2024 is now over!
All content is now available on Google's main website and .
How many times was AI mentioned?
Sundar Pichai revealed that AI helped Google tally how many times AI was mentioned in today's conference.
Artificial intelligence was talked about 120 times.
New feature to detect scams
Google announced a new feature that will help users avoid calls from scammers.
"We're testing a new feature that uses Gemini Nano to provide real-time alerts during a call if it detects conversation patterns commonly associated with scams," Made By Google on X, formerly known as Twitter.
"This protection all happens on-device so your conversation stays private to you. More to come later this year!"
Gemma 2 is coming
Josh Woodward announced that Gemma 2 will be available in June.
In a few weeks, a new 27B parameter model will be added to Gemma 2.
"This quality to size ratio is amazing because it'll outperform models over twice its size," Woodward said.
Josh Woodward takes the stage
Josh Woodward, the vice president at Google Labs, is now speaking about Gemini 1.5 Pro's features.
He says that Gemini 1.5 Pro is used for complex and general tasks for high quality responses.
On the other hand, Gemini 1.5 Flash is used for high-frequency and narrow tasks, "when the speed of the model matters the most."
Circle to search can do it all
Circle to search gives users the capability to find a pair of shoes they like or offer chefs new ingredients to use in their meals.
It can also translate words in a social post into a different language.
Circle to Search is available today and is only on Android products.
Circle to search has many capabilitiesCredit: Google More features from Gemini 1.5 Pro
Some features include:
- Upload 1,500 pages of PDFs
- Upload 1 hour of video
- Upload voice recordings and interviews and even roleplay as your professor
Gemini helps plan trips
Do you like art, seafood, and the beach?
Well, Gemini can personalize a vacation plan for anywhere you are going to visit in the world.
This new feature is rolling out this Summer!
Gemini plans a Miami vacationCredit: Google Learn about Gems
You can create Gems for specific things like a short story writer or a tutor for yourself or children.
Gems with Gemini AICredit: Google AI Chip helps with questions
Tony Vincent is on stage showing the capabilities of the AI chatbot Chip.
AI chatbot Chip lends handCredit: Google
Gemini helps to budget
Gemini with Workspace and Gmail can help show you where your money has been spent.
This feature will roll out this September.
Gemini with WorkspaceCredit: Google Gemini Gmail features
Gemini with Gemini can:
- Summarize emails
- Smart contextual reply
- Gmail Q&A
Gemini side panel coming soon
It's been announced that the Gemini side panel will be coming soon for all Google consumers.
Gemini side panel coming soonCredit: Google Customers weigh in on Google AI
Multiple Google consumers shared their thoughts on some of the newest advancements in the company's AI.
Meal prep!
Google AI can customize a specific meal prep plan for individuals for multiple days.
Get some help with your meal prepCredit: Google Get the answers you need most
Google users can get the answers to detailed questions they have about certain things.
Find the best yoga/pilates studios for yourselfCredit: Google 
Google AI provides answers quicklyCredit: Google
Circle to search
Do you like someone's shoes in a picture?
Just circle it and find out where they are sold and how much they cost in the blink of an eye.
Circle to search feature unveiledCredit: Google Consumers comment on the conference
Multiple Google customers have taken to X, formerly known as Twitter to share their thoughts on some of the news released.
"Keeping with that theme, Google is showing off a new video generator called Veo. Donald Glover has been an early tester of the tech. These clips look surprisingly smooth and realistic," one consumer wrote.
"Don’t like it — Google is taking away all the fun in the world with its new line of products & services. Very, very soon we won’t know what’s real," wrote another consumer.
What to know about Project Astra
Imagine an AI that can tell you where you left your car keys or glasses?
That's what Project Astra is capable of - you can scan the room asking stuff about your environment, and it will remember where it spotted those objects.
AI predicts where you are
A video package of someone using Google's new and improved AI shows that if you point the phone out a window it can predict where you are located.
Viewers are treated to Google's AI in actionCredit: Google