Greg Hohenbrink, director of cloud services at Wursta, takes a deep dive into Google’s new generative AI suite to show how business leaders can leverage advanced AI capabilities to improve customer and employee experiences and drive efficiency across the board maximize line.
Artificial intelligence is not a new concept. For decades we have witnessed AI gradually being integrated into more and more areas of our daily lives as consumers and employees. It was 1997 when Windows released their speech recognition software, and Roomba, our modern household hero, has been around for over 20 years now.
However, only recently have we seen a sudden boom in AI applications in the workplace. Chatbots like ChatGPT and Google’s Bard suddenly catapulted AI into the public space in an unprecedented way, creating a tipping point where adoption skyrocketed. Currently, the global AI market is forecast to grow from $35 billion in 2022 to over $521 billion in 2028, providing further evidence that this trend is here to stay.
Major technology companies are now able to strategically expand their product and service offerings based on the changes in the technology industry. Google, for example, has made a splash in AI news by announcing its own ChatBot, Bard, and other generative AI capabilities that make it possible to increase productivity in the workplace and enhance the customer experience.
However, this is nowhere near Google’s first foray into AI. In fact, Google has leveraged AI as a transformation tool with advances like Smart Compose and Smart Reply, as well as auto-generated summaries in Google Docs. In addition to Bard, the tech giant shared details on an entirely new suite of AI capabilities, setting the stage for broad cross-industry adoption. Now, as a business leader, you should consider the following skills:
More information: Exploring the rise of Generative AI across the enterprise
Machine language learning for content development
Among Google’s recent large-scale AI deployments, the ability to use machine learning to develop business content is a key component to watch for. The integration of these new technologies into Google Workspace, including but not limited to new features in Google Docs and Gmail, has the potential to completely transform modern communications.
Now employees everywhere can save the time and effort it takes to create the first version of content, whether it’s an email, a business document, or even an entire marketing campaign. Once you’ve entered the topic you want to focus on, Google uses AI to create a draft that can be refined and edited, with suggestions along the way. These new features aren’t just limited to Google Docs and Gmail. Employees can now turn the vision in their mind into reality with automatically generated images, audio and video files in Google Slides, and even turn raw data into insights and analysis through auto-completion, formula generation and contextual categorization in Google Sheets.
Google’s generative AI tools ensure Google Workspace users are empowered and spend their time more meaningfully connecting and developing, enabling unprecedented efficiency in the workplace.
Machine language learning for developers
Google’s content capabilities are certainly the focus of the news, but developers will also see productivity gains thanks to new AI offerings. Google Cloud’s extensive portfolio includes new tools to help organizations strengthen their cloud security and privacy—all of which integrate with the cloud solutions they already have.
Among Google’s solutions for developers, two are attracting the most attention: generative AI support in Vertex AI and generative AI App Builder.
Data science teams leveraging Google’s generative AI support in Vertex AI now have access to base models like PaLM to build on and adapt to their own needs. In addition to the Google Research and DeepMind models, Google plans to gradually roll out Vertex AI support on open-source and third-party models to give developers the freedom to use the platform that best suits their needs.
Alongside Vertex AI’s new capabilities, Google also announced its plans for Generative AI App Builder, calling it the fastest way for developers to accelerate gen app creation. For the first time, developers are equipped with the tools they need to create an enterprise-grade app in minutes and hours – a process that typically takes an average of 4 to 6 months.Opens a new window. The Generative AI App Builder also supports additional modalities, including images and videos. These capabilities will open the doors to building apps that use a variety of text and images as inputs to extract information from documents, photos and video content, and allow them to elevate customer interaction to unprecedented levels.
Future Applications: What’s in store for Google’s AI technology
Google didn’t hold back on the product launch last month, but one thing we quickly learned about AI is that there’s still a lot of development and learning to be done in this space.
We can expect tangible adjustments from Google over the coming months based on customer feedback and concerns.
Looking a little further into the future, we’ll likely see Google forming new AI partnerships and programs to expand its AI ecosystem and include special programs for technology partners, AI-focused software vendors, and startups. One part of the AI discussion that is becoming increasingly relevant is cybersecurity. We can expect AI to be used to detect and respond to threats, scan vulnerabilities, respond to incidents, and gather and analyze threat intelligence from multiple sources in the coming months. This can help organizations better understand the threats they face and develop more effective countermeasures. Maintaining a comprehensive cybersecurity strategy that includes both human and AI-powered elements ensures your organization’s protection is ironclad.
Google is committed to responsible AI
Although AI is the future, it will never replace human skills. To deploy “Responsible AI,” developers must ensure employees and organizations remain empowered while positively impacting customers and society. While organizations will increasingly adopt AI in the near future, it is important that we are aware of the actions being taken to ensure greater success for everyone using or affected by AI.
Google has implemented a so-called Trusted Tester program to regularly collect feedback from its users. The company recognizes that human feedback is necessary for overall success. The company therefore uses internal and external testers when introducing new offers. Before making anything generally available, Google has already refined these features based on the testers’ responses.
In addition to the Trusted Tester Program, Google has released its List of AI PrinciplesOpens in a new window as a sign of its commitment to carefully introducing universally useful AI. The list promises to avoid unfair bias, build and test on safety, uphold accountability, and uphold standards of scientific excellence. Above all, Google promises that users will always be in control as they apply its innovative AI capabilities to achieve exactly what they want from the technology.
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