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Google<\/a> on Thursday introduced a free artificial intelligence app that will enable people to rely on technology instead of their own brains to write, interpret what they\u2019re reading and deal with a variety of other task in their lives.<\/p>\n With the advent of the Gemini app, named after\u00a0an AI project unveiled late last year,<\/a>\u00a0Google will cast aside the\u00a0Bard chatbot that it introduced a year ago<\/a>\u00a0in an effort to catch up with ChatGPT, the chatbot unleashed by the\u00a0Microsoft-backed startup OpenAI<\/a>\u00a0in late 2022. Google is immediately releasing a standalone Gemini app for smartphones running on its Android software.<\/p>\n In a few weeks, Google will put Gemini\u2019s features into its existing search app for iPhones, where Apple<\/a> would prefer people rely on its Siri voice assistant for handling various tasks.<\/p>\n Although the Google voice assistant that has been available for years will stick around, company executives say they expect Gemini to become the main way users apply the technology to help them think, plan and create. It marks Google\u2019s next foray down a new and potentially perilous avenue while remaining focused\u00a0on its founding goal<\/a>\u00a0\u201cto organize the world\u2019s information and make it universally accessible and useful.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe think this is one of the most profound ways we are going to advance our mission,\u201d Sissie Hsiao, a Google general manager overseeing Gemini, told reporters ahead of Thursday\u2019s announcement.<\/p>\n The Gemini app initially will be released in the U.S. in English before expanding to the Asia-Pacific region next week, with versions in Japanese and Korean.<\/p>\n Besides the free version of Gemini, Google will be selling an advanced service accessible through the new app for $20 a month. The Mountain View, California, company says it is such a sophisticated form of AI that will it be able to tutor students, provide computer programming tips to engineers, dream up ideas for projects, and then create the content for the suggestions a user likes best.<\/p>\n The Gemini Advanced option, which will be powered by an AI technology dubbed \u201cUltra 1.0,\u201d will seek to build upon the nearly 100 million worldwide subscribers that Google says it has attracted so far \u2014 most of whom pay $2 to $10 per month for additional storage to back up photos, documents and other digital material. The Gemini Advanced subscription will include 2 terabytes of storage that Google currently sells for $10 per month, meaning the company believes the AI technology is worth an additional $10 per month.<\/p>\n Google is offering a free two-month trial of Gemini Advanced to encourage people to try it out.<\/p>\n The rollout of the Gemini apps underscores the building moment to bring more AI to smartphones \u2014 devices that accompany people everywhere \u2014 as part of a trend Google\u00a0began last fall<\/a>\u00a0when it released its latest Pixel smartphones and\u00a0Samsung embraced last month<\/a>\u00a0with its latest Galaxy smartphones.<\/p>\n It also is likely to escalate the high-stakes AI showdown pitting Google against Microsoft<\/a>, two of the world\u2019s most powerful companies jockeying to get the upper hand with a technology that could reshape work, entertainment and perhaps humanity itself. The battle already has contributed to a $2 trillion increase in the combined market value of Microsoft and Google\u2019s corporate parent, Alphabet Inc., since the end of 2022.<\/p>\n In\u00a0a blog post<\/a>, Google CEO Sundar Pichai predicted the technology underlying Gemini Advanced will be able to outthink even the smartest people when tackling many complex topics.<\/p>\n \u201cUltra 1.0 is the first to outperform human experts on (massive multitask language understanding), which uses a combination of 57 subjects \u2014 including math, physics, history, law, medicine and ethics \u2014 to test knowledge and problem-solving abilities,\u201d Pichai wrote.<\/p>\n But Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella made a point Wednesday of touting the capabilities of the ChatGPT-4 chatbot \u2014 a product released nearly a year ago after being trained by OpenAI on large-language models, or LLMs.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have the best model, today even,\u201d Nadella asserted during an event in Mumbai, India. He then seemingly anticipated Gemini\u2019s next-generation release, adding, \u201cWe\u2019re waiting for the competition to arrive. It\u2019ll arrive, I\u2019m sure. But the fact is, that we have the most leading LLM out there.\u201d<\/p>\n The introduction of increasingly sophisticated AI is amplifying fears that the technology will malfunction and misbehave on its own, or be manipulated by people for sinister purposes such as spreading misinformation in politics or to torment their enemies. That potential has already led to the passage of\u00a0rules designed to police the use of AI in Europe<\/a>, and spurred similar efforts in the U.S. and other countries.<\/p>\n Google says the next generation of Gemini products have undergone extensive testing to ensure they are safe and were built to adhere to its\u00a0AI principles<\/a>, which include being socially beneficial, avoiding unfair biases and being accountable to people.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\nSubscribe to the Eye on AI newsletter to stay abreast of how AI is shaping the future of business. Sign up<\/a> for free.<\/div>\n