The new Google Pixel smartphones will have much more artificial intelligence (AI) inside them. That was announced yesterday by the company’s senior vice president of devices and services, Rick Osterloh, unveiling a next-generation product line.
But in addition to this, Google also unveiled the Android 14 operating system. And a new version of its Assistant, both enhanced with AI.
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AI in the hand
Having one of the latest Pixel phones will mean having “artificial intelligence in your hand.” So said Osterloh during the unveiling of the next-generation Google Pixel line of smartphones. These devices, Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro, are in fact equipped with additional artificial intelligence tools that can write captions on photos that can also be edited by the technology.
However, as Quartz writes, “despite generally positive reviews, since Google began producing the devices seven years ago, the Pixel phones have barely managed to break into a market dominated by Samsung and Apple.”
But it’s also true that the tech giant can afford to produce a phone that doesn’t generate big sales. Thus because it “derives more than $200 billion a year from a digital advertising network that relies on its dominant search engine”. So dominant that Microsoft and the U.S. Justice Department accuse the company of monopoly, thanks in part to agreements with Apple and Samsung.
The AI goal
Google, during the event, left no doubt about its priorities. “Our goal is to make artificial intelligence more useful for everyone, boldly and responsibly,” Osterloh said. Indeed, in addition to the new Pixel smartphones with AI, the Android 14 operating system and a new version of its Assistant were unveiled. Both enhanced with artificial intelligence.
Thanks to AI, Android 14 will offer the ability to generate wallpapers simply by describing an image. As some software such as Dall-E or Midjourney do, for example. The latest version of Google’s operating system will also have improved support for passkeys, a new health monitoring feature and several updates for personalization.
Will Google’s new assistant be smarter?
But the most important AI product in Google’s house is its Bard chatbot. For that the company is launching Assistant with Bard. This is an AI-powered version of the personal assistant that will arrive on Android and iOS “in the coming months.”
The tool will integrate Google applications such as Gmail and Docs. And will be able to make shopping lists, find information in the inbox but also scan a photo taken with a phone running Android software. As well as generate a caption designed to be posted on social.
Brad increasingly present
The expanded access to Bard, Quartz notes, comes just two weeks after Google began linking the chatbot to other company services. Such as Gmail, Maps, and YouTube.
Google, however, to reassure about concerns that artificial intelligence may sift through potentially sensitive information in an attempt to learn more about language and people, is leaving it up to each user to decide whether to allow Bard to interact with other services.
But as stated five months ago at the annual developer conference, Google in fact plans to introduce more and more AI into its products. Until it becomes mainstream.
