Numerama is in Mountain View for Google I/O, the Alphabet subsidiary’s major annual conference. The 2024 edition promises to be historic on several levels, as Google should focus on generative artificial intelligence.
Every year, Google takes advantage of its I/O conference to unveil its plan for the coming year. New version of Android, new features for Google Assistant and connected speakers, new online services… The event is one of the richest in the new technologies sector, with several new features likely to quickly reach billions of people.
And then, in 2023, Google entered the artificial intelligence war. Faced with the emergence of a ChatGPT capable of making competing services outdated, Google had to draw out the letters “AI” several dozen times to reassure investors. Google Bard, its ChatGPT competitor, was the star of the event, even if it didn’t seem completely ready. The proof, at the end of 2023, Google announced a new language model called Gemini, then renamed Bard with the same name.
On May 14 at 7 p.m., for Google I/O 2024, the web giant should finally unveil a strong AI strategy. 2023 was a year of transition necessary for the development of Gemini, 2024 will be the year when Google will really integrate artificial intelligence everywhere.
How to follow Google I/O 2024?
To follow Google I/O 2024, go to YouTube from 7 p.m. THE May 14. The conference, which takes place in person in Mountain View, will be broadcast live. Numerama is also on site and will offer you a live decryption of the announcements, in addition to numerous articles and videos to decipher Google’s strategy.
What new features are expected at Google I/O 2024?
Google Gemini and artificial intelligence
Google Gemini should be the star of I/O 2024. ChatGPT’s competing chatbot could receive several major updates, as Google started testing Gemini 1.5, the new version of its LLM, in February 2024. It would be logical to see the website gain in capacity, while integrating several Google services. The brand has always been strong in making sensational demonstrations, such as with Duplex which calls using AI.
One of Google’s strengths over OpenAI is that billions of people use its services daily, which can give Gemini a leg up if it is integrated everywhere. The company knows this and will surely rely on GmailChromium, Pictures Or Maps to make its AI essential.
We can also imagine that Google will take advantage of its conference to deploy several new products internationally, while Gemini is mainly operational in the United States today. The premium version of the Google One subscription, with access to the Gemini Ultra super-model (GPT-4’s competitor), could arrive in other countries. It remains to be seen whether France will be affected or if, as the European Union requires, Google will prefer to continue to move slowly here.
Finally, other experimental AI could be announced. We remember the medical model announced in 2023 (Med-PaLM 2), capable of pretending to be a doctor thanks to an optimized database.
The death of Google Assistant?
In some countries, Google is testing the replacement of Google Assistant with Gemini on Android. The voice assistant launched in 2016 seems to be at the end of its run, while conversational agents based on large language models are much more versatile. Logic would dictate that Gemini become the assistant for Android smartphones after I/O 2024, before replacing Google Assistant on Nest speakers.
According to rumors, Google could also launch a new voice assistant. The day after the announcement of an OpenAI assistant, Google could unveil “Pixie”, a successor to Google Assistant based on Gemini, but particularly geared towards voice. It could be designed for speakers or headphones, which need voice inputs to respond.
Major new features for the search engine?
At I/O 2024, Google could also make announcements about its core business: search. Very cautious in this area (this is its main source of income, thanks to advertising), the company could take a first step towards an AI-powered search engine. A search would not only return sites, but a summary of these sites.
The rumor of an OpenAI search engine based on AI can only encourage Google not to be the follower.
Android 15: finally some new features?
Last year, the Android 14 announcement was ridiculously short. Will Android 15 be richer in new features? Only one thing is certain, it will be revealed during the I/O conference, while the first beta versions are already available.
Android XR: Is Google ready to unveil its anti-Apple Vision Pro strategy?
In the coming months, Google will launch in partnership with Samsung and Qualcomm a mixed reality headset competing with the Apple Vision Pro. The product will probably not be shown on May 14, but its operating system could be revealed. The supposed Android XR, future rival to visionOS (Apple) and Horizon OS (Meta), will have the difficult task of seducing headset manufacturers.
New Pixels?
Finally, will there be any hardware at Google I/O? A priori, no. The brand unveiled its Pixel 8a a week before the developer conference, which suggests that it will not have a minute to devote to hardware. There could be a teaser for the future Pixel 9, but we imagine nothing else.
With Google I/O 2024 just days away, there is every reason to believe that the event could be bigger than in previous years, due to the rise of generative artificial intelligence. Numerama, from Mountain View and Paris, will offer you exhaustive coverage of the event.
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