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Google overhauls Search with AI
Spotlight: OpenAI might allow explicit content
Jack Shields
May 16, 2024
Welcome back!
After OpenAI shocked the world with GPT-4o, Google immediately responded with a slew of AI announcements at its developer conference on Tuesday. Let’s dive in.
In today’s Daily Update:
🗞️ Google Search gets overhauled with new AI features
🤖 US Senators propose $32B in AI spending
📸 OpenAI considers allowing explicit content
🚨 AI Roundup: Four quick hits
Read time: 2 minutes
TOP STORY
🗞️ Google Search gets overhauled with new AI features
DALL-E 3
Google is rolling out generative AI features in Google Search to U.S. users starting this week. The company hopes to modernize its Search engine as AI tools like ChatGPT threaten to make Google’s longstanding product obsolete.
What you should know:
Google is revamping Search with AI Overviews, which include brief, Gemini-generated answers to searches with links to sources.
Users will also be able to use videos and images as search prompts.
Google’s end goal is to build an AI agent that can plan and make decisions on your behalf (ex. “Make a 6:30 reservation at an affordable Thai restaurant near me”).
The company is also adding new Gemini-powered features to products like Gmail, Google Photos and Sheets.
Why it matters: Google has entered its “Gemini era,” bringing generative AI features to over 2 billion users globally. There are rumors that OpenAI is working on a ChatGPT-powered search engine of its own, so expect to see the AI race between Big Tech companies heat up even more in the coming months.
AI REGULATION
🤖 US Senators propose $32B in AI spending
Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai at Google I/O 2024 (Source: AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
A bipartisan group of U.S. senators is asking Congress to spend $32 billion over the next three years to develop AI and build safeguards around it.
Key points:
Four senators released a report urging the U.S. to “harness the opportunities and address the risks” of rapidly evolving AI technology.
The group of two Democrats and two Republicans says that regulation must be balanced with incentives for innovation.
Under pressure from China’s growing investments in AI, the group hopes to find a consensus among a divided Congress.
The recommended emergency spending legislation would boost U.S. investments in AI research and development.
Why it matters: The U.S. is falling behind Europe and China when it comes to AI regulation, and this is a promising step forward. An emergency spending bill could lead to a fair compromise between the U.S. government and Big Tech, ensuring the responsible development of safe AI.
BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT
📸 OpenAI considers allowing explicit content
DALL-E 3
OpenAI is reportedly exploring responsible ways to allow users to generate porn and other explicit content with its AI tools.
The details:
Under OpenAI’s current policy, sexually explicit or suggestive content is mostly banned.
A new document suggests that OpenAI may allow users to generate NSFW content (including profanity, gore and erotica) in “age-appropriate contexts.”
OpenAI’s Joanne Jang told NPR that “enabling deepfakes is out of the question.”
Jang also says that the company’s reevaluation won’t necessarily lead to policy changes.
Why it matters: Sexually explicit deepfakes are already outraging parents and students across the country. There have been several incidents in the past year where AI tools were used to generate nude photos of girls as young as 12 years old. There’s certainly a market for AI-generated porn and other explicit content, but OpenAI is walking a fine line here that should probably be avoided.
MORE TRENDING NEWS
🚨 AI Roundup: Four quick hits
DALL-E 3
News publishers openly criticize Google’s new AI-powered search.
Google unveils LearnLM family of AI models designed for education.
Anthropic hires Instagram co-founder Mike Krieger as new chief product officer.
OpenAI chief scientist Ilya Sutskever officially leaves the company after failing to oust CEO Sam Altman last fall.
THAT’S ALL FOR TODAY