The Google Gemini AI has been the talk of the town since news of it launched on Wednesday, the company setting up its AI as a real ChatGPT rival. If you’re wondering what Google Gemini is when the Mountain View-based company already has Google Bard in its AI repository, it is an updated, well-rounded successor to the more basic capabilities of the Google Bard chatbot. The company has been relatively silent on the AI front, making silent moves behind the scenes and setting up the AI, and it seems finally ready for a debut with a Google Gemini AI release date closer than ever. While some glimpses of the AI are available already, the real first step of the Google Gemini AI will be witnessed on December 13.
Image credit – Google
What Is the Google Gemini AI?
Gemini AI is Google’s “largest and most capable” AI model yet, with a dedicated focus towards providing AI solutions to support a range of business needs. The work appears to have been spearheaded by Google DeepMind, the AI and neuroscience research wing of the parent company Alphabet. The AI model is also set to become the backbone of the Bard chatbot, but its capabilities extend far beyond that, bringing AI to smartphones and developers who can truly expand on the potential of the model.
“Gemini is the result of large-scale collaborative efforts by teams across Google, including our colleagues at Google Research. It was built from the ground up to be multimodal, which means it can generalize and seamlessly understand, operate across and combine different types of information including text, code, audio, image and video.”
—Demis Hassabis, CEO and Co-Founder of Google DeepMind
What are the Google Gemini Categories?
Image credit – Google
To streamline their services for clarity, the Google Gemini AI has been divided into three sizes or categories that will help differentiate between its use at varying levels. The services based on these categories will likely see a staggered launch over the next year.
Gemini Nano
Just as the name suggests, the smallest, most simple iteration of the Gemini AI will be the Nano, designed to be built into smartphones so users can have AI services available on-device, without having to connect to the internet to access the cloud. The services are already available for Google Pixel Pro users, who should be able to use some of the basic features on their phones right now. Gemini Nano should also allow developers to build smartphone services but there is likely going to be a wait for the availability of this service.
Gemini Pro
Designed to be scaled both horizontally and vertically, the Gemini Pro category will be the one largely pushing forth all of Google’s services come December 13 once the Google Gemini AI release date is upon us. Enterprise customers should be able to access the service through the Gemini API in Google AI Studio or Google Cloud Vertex AI. The company indicated that the service is already powering Google Bard and those who wish to utilize the chatbot only have to log in and see what the Gemini Pro AI is currently capable of.
Gemini Ultra
It is this component of the Google Gemini AI that is truly slated to be a ChatGPT rival, tagged currently as the “most efficient model for on-device tasks.” Google reports that the Gemini Ultra model is the first to outperform human experts on massive multitask language understanding (MMLU) with a 90 percent score and that its performance exceeds the top performance of exciting services, primarily GPT-4 in 30 out of 32 academic benchmarks. The Ultra model could eventually power Bard as well, Bard Advanced to be specific” but it is quite possible that this will come with a paywall like ChatGPT-4.
How to Use Google Gemini AI?
To witness the actual potential of the Google Gemini AI, users will likely have to wait till next year to see how Google phases out its services and offerings and whether it actually holds up as a ChatGPT rival. Until then, to get a basic understanding of what Google Gemini is, you can simply open your browser up to search for Google Bard, log in with a Google account, and then get started with your questions for the chatbot. The AI tool supports voice search and image search as well, making it simple enough to find the information you are looking for. Google has warned against the slight margin of error with the devices, letting users know that the AI may not get it right every time.
For those who want to know how to use Google Gemini AI on the Pixel 8 Pro, there are very limited features that can be tested but it is available to try. To turn the AI on, open up the settings on your device and find the Developer Options. Select the Aicore setting and enable Aicore Persistent to have the service set up on your device.
To use the Google Gemini AI on the Pixel 8 Pro, you can open up a WhatsApp chat, and use the Google keyboard to try and reply. Suggested replies should appear on your device in response to the chats. This service is currently only available for WhatsApp and in English only but the company will likely expand on the service with time. Alternatively, the recorder app can also be used to capture audio, and a summary button should help capture key points from the recording with ease. There is great potential for the use of this tool, and the Google Gemini AI will only get more powerful and versatile from here on out.
Thoughts on the ChatGPT rival
The Google Gemini AI model guesses at the drawing presented in front of it. (Image credit – Google)
The Google Gemini AI sounds great in theory so far, and all evidence points to it really holding its own against OpenAI’s ChatGPT. The multimodal model is capable of analyzing various forms of data and generating computer code on a more advanced level than before. The promotional video for the AI appears quite wholesome as a speaker interacts with the AI trying to get it to interpret drawings, recognize objects, aid with language, facilitate game creation, interpret hand gestures, make connections between objects, etc. The Google Gemini AI appears more interactive and engaging than any of its predecessors, setting up quite the image as a game-changer in AI.
Despite all the positive capabilities, however, there is still limited actual evidence of the AI model’s full potential as the titbits available to experience so far are exceptionally limited. Those who sign up for the Pro services following the Google Gemini AI release date will likely be able to better gauge the true potential of the Google AI’s capabilities but until then, we’ll have to keep our eyes and ears peeled to see what the ChatGPT rival unveils next.
