WOWED BY GOOGLE AI
Google Gemini popped up in a text on my Android phone today. She’s my new artificially-intelligent best friend, at least until the new “Astra” comes out.
The first thing Gemini said to me was: “Chat with me to draft messages, brainstorm ideas, plan events or simply have a fun conversation.” So I texted her: “Help me plan a fun outing for two people celebrating an anniversary.” She came up with some great ideas.
As pleasant as Gemini is, the new “Project Astra” is even more amazing, though it’s still a work in progress. Astra is like Siri, Google Assistant and Google Gemini, but with more capabilities. She has speech, vision, text and a working memory. Someday, according to Google, some of Astra’s capabilities will become part of Gemini.
In a Google demo, Astra looked around a room and identified multiple objects in it, including toy hotdogs and toy animals, purposely sticking to the letter “t” in an alliterative game. Later, when a Google staffer drew a primitive picture in the game of Pictionary, she exclaimed, “That’s a good stick figure!” Unlike Siri, Gemini, Google Assistant or Alexa, she wasn’t prompted to say anything about the game. She just joined in. Nor does she have to hear her name called. She’s always listening. Is that creepy or fun? I say “fun.”
Google’s competition is ChatGPT 4-o, nicknamed “Omni,” from OpenAI. Among many other tasks, she’s amazingly good at real-time translations. In a demo, a guy tells her he only speaks English and his friend speaks only Italian. So he asks Omni to translate everything that’s said, and Astra does a perfect job of keeping up with the conversation. For example, when the Italian woman rattles off words that are incomprehensible to the English-speaker, Omni says to him: “She said that if whales could talk, what would they tell us?”
Search on “ChatGPT Omni” and scroll down to see more demos. OpenAI says Omni is in the 99 percentile among those who took the Biology Olympiad, and in the 90th percentile of those taking the Uniform Bar Exam.
I couldn’t decide whether I’m more impressed with Astra or Omni so I Googled it. According to Boy Genius Report, they’re equal, but Boy Genius tips his hat to Omni because it’s already available, at least to some. It’s not in the ChatGPT app I installed on my iPad and I’ve seen many complaints. Beware of the Omni knock-offs. They’ll ask you to pay.
More from Google AI
“AI Overviews” presents a summary of the info you’re looking for in a Google Search, if you use the Google Chrome web browser and are signed in. It saves you the trouble of having to click on links, though you also get those. Google expects it to reach over a billion people by the end of 2024.
“Google Gemini in your Email,” for users with the Enterprise version, saves executives from having to read everything in their inbox. For example, they might say, “give me a summary of all the emails from the Spotted Owl Society.” In July, they’ll be able to ask their email questions.
– Google’s “Veo,” which isn’t out yet, can generate video in high resolution based on whatever you ask for. The video clip I saw came from the prompt: “alpacas wearing knit wool sweaters, graffiti background, sunglasses, dancing to the beat.” If you want an aerial shot instead of eye-to-eye, you can get it. Or you can keep the conversation flowing to get new versions of your first result. Veo can understand cinematic words like “time lapse,” and can make videos based on a text, clip or image you send her. Sign up for the waitlist at labs.google/videofx.
Dumping the Passcode
Though the passcode is the most secure sign-on, here’s a tip for using your fingerprint: Register both thumbs as one finger. When prompted, tap your right thumb, then your left. Keep going, right, left, right left, until you’re finished. The next time you’re asked to put in a fingerprint, you can use either thumb.
Unlike in the past, this worked so well on my Pixel 8 phone that I decided to give facial recognition a try too, though it never worked on my cheaper phones. It works great on my Pixel 8. But a friend who tried it on his midrange Samsung said it didn’t work for him. He tried it with two different pairs of glasses as well as bare faced. Darn.
Don’t Track Me
A couple of years ago, some iPhone users discovered that they were being stalked by their exes and others who used coin-sized location trackers, such as the $30 Apple AirTag. Apple responded by adding detection features to the iPhone. Now Google has added these features to Android phones as well. In addition, the two companies are working together to create an industry standard for the companies who make the trackers.
Turn Off Your Phone
Turning off your smartphone helps protect it from hackers, according to the National Security Administration. They’re referring to a type of exploit that can occur without your clicking on anything. Naturally, it’s called “Zero click.” PCWorld says you should turn your phone off at least once a week.
Internut
OpentoDebate.com offers pro-and-con debates on hot button issues like “Should NATO admit Ukraine?” and “Is “Anti-Zionism the new Anti-Semitism?” Here’s what’s best: The debaters never resort to name calling.