Google “flips” internal teams to counter the threat posed by ChatGPT

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Google is in a code red state as the tech giant looks to address the challenge posed by recent ChatGPT developments, according to sources inside the company.

The company has reportedly reassigned a number of internal departments to help develop and release new AI products to keep pace with the rapid acceleration of generative AI systems being rolled out in recent months.

At the heart of this renewed Google charge is the persistent threat that ChatGPT could pose to its core products and services.

Since its release three weeks ago, ChatGPT has been a source of great excitement in the broader global technology ecosystem amid claims that technology could become a major disruptor across a number of vertical industries.

CEO Sundar Pichai appears to be leading this rapid change, according to internal memos and audio obtained by The New York Times. Sources close to the matter say he has turned the work of several groups within the company to respond to the threat posed by ChatGPT.

From now until a major conference expected to be hosted by Google in May, teams within Google’s search, trust and security and other departments have been redeployed to help develop and release new AI prototypes and products, it reported. the NYT.

It is claimed that employees have also been directed to create generative AI products comparable to OpenAI’s DALL-E, which has been used extensively to create artwork and other digitally curated images.

DALL-E has been used by more than three million people since its release in January 2021.

These competing products could be made available as part of AI tech giants Test Kitchen, according to the report.

Agile competitors

A key motivating factor in this change at Google, the NYT suggested, is that the company is seriously concerned about the prospect of competing with smaller, more nimble competitors in the AI ​​space.

OpenAI was founded in late 2015 by Sam Altman, Elon Musk and a number of investors. Since its launch, the company has grown significantly and positioned itself as a key player in the industry.

And with the release of ChatGPT in late November, the company looks set to grow significantly and is courting investors.

A recent report from Reuters revealed that the company expects revenues to grow to about $200 million in 2023 and cross the $1 billion mark in 2024.

More broadly, the Generative AI space as a whole has seen significant investment over the past couple of years.

Data from PitchBook shows that venture capital investment in generative AI has increased 425% since 2020, with $2.1 billion invested in 2022 alone.

This rapid growth, combined with the emergence of dynamic new players in the industry, could pose a serious threat to established organizations like Google, which has invested heavily in AI products.

Google has spent the last few years developing chatbots, and earlier this year it was involved in a controversial incident involving its Language Model for Dialogue Applications system, known as LaMDA.

Seen as a potential long-term competitor to ChatGPT, LaMDA was a source of massive interest and concern after a Google engineer claimed it was sentient.

Although Google has refuted the claims made by Blake Lemoine, the incident served to highlight the significant advances in chatbot technology that have been made in recent years.

According to audio of a meeting obtained by the NYT, executives said the company plans to release LaMDA chat technology as a cloud computing service to external customers.

Similarly, it was also hinted during the meeting that the tech giant could incorporate the technology into simple customer support businesses.

Accuracy issues

That in itself could raise future ethical issues for Google, as executives noted they could limit prototype products to just 500,000 users and warn them that the technology could produce false or offensive content and/or claims.

The accuracy of AI products and systems has been a persistent concern for several years, and one executive warned at the meeting that AI can make things up, use toxic language, and contain bias.

In 2017, Microsoft famously released its Tay chatbot prototype, which was found to use racist and xenophobic language. The chatbot was later removed.

This example, among others, is a key factor behind why Google has previously been reluctant to share its technology. The company is increasingly concerned that AI prototypes could harm users or society, according to an internal memo.

However, at a recent meeting, an executive warned that smaller organizations have fewer concerns about releasing those tools.

This presents Google with a high-risk decision; capitalize on current trends and start releasing prototypes, or risk being left behind by an industry that is developing at a rapid pace.

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