io2018
Latest
Google’s AI advances are equal parts worry and wonder
I laughed along with most of the audience at I/O 2018 when, in response to a restaurant rep asking it to hold on, Google Assistant said "Mmhmm". But beneath our mirth lay a sense of wonder. The demo of Google Duplex, "an AI system for accomplishing real-world tasks over the phone," was almost unbelievable. The artificially intelligent Assistant successfully made a reservation with a human being over the phone without the person knowing it wasn't real. It even used sounds like "umm," "uhh" and tonal inflections to create a more convincing, realistic cadence. It was like a scene straight out of a science fiction movie or Black Mirror.
The new Google Maps is more than just a Yelp alternative
Google announced so much stuff at I/O 2018 that there was barely enough time to cover them all. In addition to new Android P features, a "Digital Wellbeing" initiative and all manner of AI and accessibility improvements, the company also unveiled a redesigned Maps app that might change the way we explore places. I checked out a demo of the new app with Maps product lead Sophia Lin, and frankly can't wait till the new features roll out this summer.
Google Lens hands-on: Copy-and-paste the real world to your phone
Google may have teased us with exciting new AR features for the Maps app, but it's not forgetting to make its Lens camera more useful, either. Since its launch last year, Lens has rolled out to iOS and gained a few skills, like identifying cat and dog breeds. At its I/O developer conference today, Google announced three new features for Lens -- Smart Text Selection, Style Match and Real-time results. After checking it out here at the show, I'm most intrigued by the text-recognition tools, which actually seem useful.
What to expect at Google I/O 2018
It's somehow already May, which means Google's I/O developer conference is right around the corner: next week, in fact. The show is once again being held in scenic Mountain View, California, and with its keynotes, sessions and musical acts, I/O feels like a developer conference with just a hint of Coachella. Personally, we're going for the hard news, and we expect a lot of it, even despite a recent, massive Google news dump. In anticipation of all that action, here's a quick primer on what we know Google has in store for I/O, along with a few things we're likely to see once the show kicks off on Tuesday.
