The Importance of Generative AI for Google's Future Growth

 

Google, the tech giant known for its search engine and various other applications, may soon regain its place in the artificial intelligence (AI) industry. Despite spending billions on AI research and development and acquisitions, Google has recently seen competition from OpenAI, a start-up that has captured the public's attention with its conversant chatbot, ChatGPT. However, Google's investments in AI, dating back to the 2000s, may soon pay off and power the company's next quarter century of growth.

One of Google's major AI investments is in natural language processing (NLP) models. In 2018, Google invented the transformer language model, BERT (bidirectional encoder representations from transformers), which the company now uses to enhance its search and translation capabilities. Additionally, Google claims to have an NLP chatbot, LaMDA, that is more powerful than ChatGPT. Alphabet subsidiary DeepMind is also considering releasing an AI chatbot, Sparrow, later this year.

While OpenAI has made strides in supercharging NLP models by using large amounts of training data, Google's extensive experience in crawling and cataloging the web may give the company an advantage in accessing more and better-quality training data for its models. This could lead to impressive AI apps and services that do not generate incorrect or toxic content.

One potential area for Google to utilize its AI is in search. The company has been using BERT language models to interpret the intent behind keywords and phrases entered into the search bar. More advanced language models, or generative models, could be used to compose search results in the same way ChatGPT generates textual answers to user questions. This could lead to a more personalized and multimedia search experience for users.

Google's cautious approach to making its AI tools available to the public may be due to the potential risks and liabilities associated with the technology. However, the company has a lot to gain from AI and has set itself up to offer new and novel AI-powered features. Integrating generative AI models into productivity apps, such as Gmail and Google Docs, could also be a potential area for growth.

While OpenAI's partnership with Microsoft has recently expanded with a $10 billion investment, Google's extensive experience and resources in AI should not be underestimated. The company may soon regain its place in the AI industry and lead the way in developing new and innovative AI-powered features and services.