2024-05-01 09:00:01
Google has given its AI chatbot “Gemini” a major update. The new functions are primarily intended to make people’s everyday lives easier.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is finding its way into more and more areas of our everyday life. Many processes often run unconsciously in the background: In traffic control – for example when switching traffic lights – it is used to optimize the traffic flow and reduce traffic jams. Banks and credit card companies use them to detect attempted fraud based on unusual transactions.
Many people are also using AI more and more consciously in everyday life: Smart home devices control lighting, heating, thermostats and other devices in their own four walls. Language assistants find the right playlist for the current mood and translators help with communication while on vacation.
“Gemini” update aims to improve productivity and creativity
In the race for AI supremacy and user favor, Google has now given its in-house AI chatbot “Gemini” a comprehensive update. The company wants to help users “improve their productivity and creativity through sophisticated AI functions,” explains Jules Walter, one of the product managers for “Gemini,” in an interview with t-online.
Jules Walter – about the person
Jules Walter has been working at Google for almost four years and is one of the product leads for “Gemini” (formerly “Bard”). He previously worked at Storefront, Slack and YouTube. Walter studied computer science at MIT and Harvard. He also serves on the boards of two organizations that support underrepresented people in the tech industry.
Specifically, the update now also enables users in Germany to do what was already introduced in the USA last year: “Gemini” can use information from many other Google apps for answers and is therefore even more helpful. This currently includes the following services:
- Gmail
- Google Docs
- Google Drive
- Google Flights
- Google Hotels
- Google Maps
- YouTube
For example, if you want to find out more about a specific topic, you can use AI to break it down or have it explained to you in simple words. In addition, “Gemini” is now even able to select suitable YouTube videos on a topic and summarize their content in bullet points. This makes it much easier for users to decide which video they want to watch – and saves a lot of time.
However, in order to access the function, users must first agree to be linked to the respective app in the data protection settings. Only then does “Gemini” deliver the desired information from the other services directly in the chat. The background is the EU Digital Markets Act (GDM). Since this came into force on March 6th, providers such as Google are no longer allowed to automatically link user connections between different services.
Walter’s main concern is making everyday life easier for people: “What’s happening now is a further development of generative AI that can help generate content in a way that wasn’t possible before. This underlines the growing Using AI in everyday tasks.”
AI for vacation planning, AI for email overview
He recently used “Gemini” to plan his family vacation in France. Given the right task, the AI chatbot looks for cheap flights and hotels and lists them without having to open another tab or even window in its browser. Travel routes and excursion destinations from Google Maps are also displayed, and the suggestions are adapted to the age of the children.
Another example concerns Walter’s emails. He lets “Gemini” regularly check his mailbox for specific topics such as his son’s leisure activities so that he doesn’t miss any appointments and takes all the important things with him to the meetings.
The AI can also formulate appropriate answers to individual emails independently and in the desired tone. “Normally, such planning takes a lot of time, but with AI everything is much faster,” he says.
Skepticism about AI is “natural and healthy”
As a developer, he also understands the “natural and healthy” skepticism with which people approach artificial intelligence. So-called hallucinations – false or made-up information provided by the AI - could occur again and again, and even double checking the facts is not always reliable.
Nevertheless, Walter sees the efficiency and potential of AI as a kind of versatile tool that will positively change people’s everyday lives and create equal conditions for everyone: “People used to be skeptical about the Internet. Or they asked themselves: why they should ever pay for anything online with their credit card.”
Artificial intelligence is still in its early stages
Technology has made huge progress and is developing incredibly quickly – and yet, according to Walter, AI is still in its early stages. At the moment it is even relatively easy to deal with it. However, anyone who resists the development may soon no longer be able to keep up: “At some point the train will have left.”