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On Wednesday, Google held a much-anticipated press convention from Paris that did not take the decisive step in opposition to ChatGPT and the Microsoft-OpenAI partnership that many pundits had hoped for. As a substitute, Google took a have a look at a group of beforehand introduced applied sciences in a low-key presentation that included the lack of a demo telephone.

The demo, which included references to many merchandise not but accessible, got here simply hours after somebody observed that Google’s announcement for its just lately introduced Bard large language mannequin contained a bug in regards to the James Webb House Telescope. After Reuters reported on the error, Forbes famous that Google’s share worth declined almost 7 p.c, taking with it a worth of about $100 billion.

On stage in entrance of a small in-person viewers in Paris, Google SVP Prabhakar Raghavan and Google VP of Search Liz Reid took turns displaying off a collection of merchandise that included “a number of search,” a function AI-powered visible search engine from Google Lens that enables customers to look by taking a photograph and describing what they’d like to search out, an “Immersive View” function from Google Maps that allows a 3D flight of main cities, and a brand new model of Google Translate, together with a handful of minor bulletins.

Throughout his presentation on the “a number of search” function, Reid offered a dwell demo. After silence and a nervous snicker, he continued, “We’re lacking the telephone. Let’s go forward, we will not discover the telephone.” The second sparked confusion for some through the extremely anticipated press occasion of a billion greenback firm. After Reid’s demo, Raghavan quipped, “Thanks, Liz, and we’ll have to search out out who stole your telephone.”

However the large information that journalists anticipated from the occasion got here on Monday, two days earlier than the presentation. That day, Google introduced Bard, a conversational AI mannequin it is positioning in opposition to OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Microsoft’s “New Bing.” Monday’s announcement got here as one thing of a shock, presumably a transfer designed to get forward of a Microsoft AI convention going down on Tuesday. The tug of battle seemed that the 2 firms had been getting ready for a competitive warfare on generative AI, however up to now, the battle has develop into extra of a one-sided dance, as critics decry Google’s reluctance to ship generative AI merchandise, regardless of pioneering lots of the applied sciences behind them.

Raghavan spent a while going over Bard’s options through the press convention in Paris, however he revealed nothing new and Bard stays safely locked behind Google’s doorways. “We simply took our subsequent large step by opening Bard to trusted testers this week,” Raghavan mentioned. “We’ll proceed to make use of suggestions from inner and exterior testing to make sure it meets our excessive commonplace for high quality, security, and grounding earlier than releasing it extra extensively.”

Regardless of Google’s slowness to market a breakthrough generative AI product (that the general public can use), the story is not over but. Issues with mental property and hallucinations in giant language fashions that create convincing falsehoods may find yourself inflicting hassle for Microsoft, which is raring to leap headfirst utilizing OpenAI’s know-how.