With the advent of the Gemini app, named after an AI project unveiled late last year, Google will cast aside the Bard chatbot that it introduced a year ago in an effort to catch up with ChatGPT, the chatbot unleashed by the Microsoftbacked startup OpenAI in late 2022. Google is immediately releasing a standalone Gemini app for smartphones running on its Android software.
In a few weeks, Google will put Gemini’s features into its existing search app for iPhones, where Apple would prefer people rely on its Siri voice assistant for handling various tasks.
Although the Google voice assistant that has been available for years will stick around, company executives say they expect Gemini to become the main way users apply the technology to help them think, plan and create. It marks Google’s next foray down a new and potentially perilous avenue while remaining focused on its founding goal “to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.”
“We think this is one of the most profound ways we are going to advance our mission,” Sissie Hsiao, a Google general manager overseeing Gemini, told reporters ahead of Thursday’s announcement.
The Gemini app initially will be released in the U.S. in English before expanding to the Asia-Pacific region next week, with versions in Japanese and Korean.
This story is from the February 10, 2024 edition of Techlife News.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the February 10, 2024 edition of Techlife News.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
AUSTRALIA SHOULD DELAY SOCIAL MEDIA BAN FOR CHILDREN UNDER 16. BIG TECH SAYS
An advocate for major social media platforms told an Australian Senate committee that laws to ban children younger than 16 from the sites should be delayed until next year at least instead of being rushed through the Parliament.
APPLE AND GOOGLE FACE UK INVESTIGATION INTO MOBILE BROWSER DOMINANCE
Apple and Google aren’t giving consumers a genuine choice of mobile web browsers, a British watchdog said in a report that recommends they face an investigation under new U.K. digital rules taking effect next year.
DIRECTV CALLS OFF ACQUISITION OF RIVAL DISH, POSSIBLY ENDING A YEARSLONG PURSUIT
DirecTV is calling off its planned acquisition of rival Dish after the offer was rejected by bond holders at that company.
THE PSYCHOLOGY OF RETIREMENT INCOME: FROM SAVING TO SPENDING
The narrative of a miserly, Scrooge-like figure hoarding his wealth for years instead of enjoying his retirement might seem unbelievable—but unfortunately, it isn’t relegated only to fiction. It’s a cold reality for many retirees.
'BUY NOW, PAY LATER' IS MORE POPULAR THAN EVER. IT CAN COST MORE THAN YOU THINK
More shoppers than ever are on track to use ‘buy now, pay later’ plans this holiday season, as the ability to spread out payments looks attractive at a time when Americans still feel the lingering effect of inflation and already have record-high credit card debt.
IS 'GLICKED' THE NEW 'BARBENHEIMER'? 'WICKED' AND 'GLADIATOR II' COLLIDE IN THEATERS
“Barbenheimer” was a phenomenon impossible to manufacture. But, more than a year later, that hasn’t stopped people from trying to make “Glicked” — or even “Babyratu” — happen.
ELECTRIC CAR SALES ARE SLOWING IN THE US AND EUROPE AS BOTH FANS AND SKEPTICS SHARE CONCERNS
While sales of electric vehicles surge in China, adoption of more environmentally friendly vehicles is stumbling in the United States and Europe as carmakers and governments struggle to meet years-old promises about affordability and charging stations.
FEDERAL PROSECUTORS SEEK RECORDS FROM COMPANY THAT DEPLOYED AI WEAPONS SCANNER ON NYC SUBWAY
Federal investigators in New York are seeking records from the manufacturer of an AI-powered weapons scanner that was briefly deployed this summer in New York City’s subway system.
BIDEN ADMINISTRATION TO LOAN $6.6B TO EV MAKER RIVIAN TO BUILD GEORGIA FACTORY THAT AUTOMAKER PAUSED
President Joe Biden's administration announced this week that the U.S. Department of Energy will make a $6.6 billion loan to Rivian Automotive to build a factory in Georgia that had stalled as the startup electric vehicle maker struggled to become profitable.
RANSOMWARE ATTACK ON SOFTWARE SUPPLIER DISRUPTS OPERATIONS FOR STARBUCKS AND OTHER RETAILERS
A ransomware attack that hit a major software provider last week caused disruptions for a handful of companies over recent days, from Starbucks to U.K. grocery giant Morrisons.
