Google Event 2023: Google to combine generative AI chatbot with virtual assistant

Microsoft has announced an Xbox Partner Preview event livestream that will happen on Wednesday, October 25. The event will show new looks and reveals of upcoming games heading to Xbox, Game Pass, and Windows from third-party partners.

Nearly three years ago, Google proposed a new "Gnatcatcher" system to help anonymize internet traffic and cut down on cross-site tracking. Soon, Google will roll out an updated version of that proposal, dubbed "IP Protection," with some significant changes.

Google Meet is rolling out a long-awaited feature that enables users to enhance their appearance during video calls. This new feature, known as "portrait touch-up," was announced in a recent Google Workspace update and is currently available to early adopters on mobile devices. The extended rollout to all remaining accounts is set to commence on October 28th. Additionally, Google has plans to bring this feature to Google Meet on the web by the end of 2023.

Google pays as much as $10 billion per year to ensure that users access the internet through its search engine — payments that have blocked startups and fellow tech giants Apple Inc. and Microsoft Corp. from competing, according to the US Justice Department.

Starfield managed to hold off Mortal Kombat 1 to be the best-selling game of September 2023 in the U.S., according to new numbers from Circana.

Chinese tech company Baidu just unveiled the latest version of its Ernie AI chatbot and claims it now rivals OpenAI's GPT-4. Previously, Baidu claimed Ernie had surpassed ChatGPT 3.5.

AI Roundup: The US will close loopholes on exporting AI chips to China, building on previous restrictions implemented last October. In a separate development, Bloomberg Tax & Accounting launched its AI Lab, offering AI-driven tools like an LLM combined with Bloomberg Tax Research for question-and-answer services. Deloitte also unveiled its AI chatbot internally which can assist professionals with responses and insights.

The CEO of privacy-oriented search engine DuckDuckGo said its talks with Apple about a potential contract failed because of Google's multibillion-dollar deals with the smartphone maker, transcripts of a landmark antitrust trial of the Alphabet unit showed.

Google will soon release a version of its virtual assistant that is powered by the company's Bard artificial intelligence technology, helping users handle more complex tasks.

It took Google one hour and twenty minutes to go through its electric-paced Made by Google event that launched the new flagship smartphones Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro, Pixel Watch 2, new colorways for Pixel Buds, a host of new AI-powered features, Bard's integration with Google Assistant, and a small teaser for Android 14 that will soon rollout. Although Google CEO Sundar Pichai was nowhere to be seen during the event, Rick Osterloh, SVP, Devices & Services at Google, took charge and showcased everything new that's coming to consumers starting next week. And in case you missed it, don't worry. Check the 10 big announcements made during the event.

The latest version of Android brings both new lock-screen widgets and a new set of locks for some of your data. And like previous updates, most users of Google’s mobile operating system will have to wait to see what these features look like on their own devices.

Bungie is apparently using or preparing to use generative AI on their current and future projects.