At the opening ceremony of Google I/O 2022, the chief executive officer, Sundar Pichai, delivered a 2-hour keynote speech, "Advancing knowledge and computing." Outlining Google's long-term vision, the speech also hinted at the evolution of Internet technology in the post-pandemic era.
"Search your world, any way and anywhere"
This time, Google Search is redefining itself in a new way, combining texts, voices, visuals, and more to make this experience as intuitive as possible for users.
This means that search will become a multisensor, multi-device approach that understands "who is searching" and "what they are looking for." The search experience will also go beyond Q&A. The company is making Android more user-centric so that smartphones can be tailored to customers' needs based on context, natural interaction, and the hardware-software ecosystem required to make these devices work anywhere.
A few months ago, Google announced Multisearch, a new feature that allows you to search directly in Google Apps by taking pictures and asking questions about items you encounter in everyday life but can't identify or describe. Added to this is a "Scene Exploring" feature that lets users directly scan products at the supermarket using their smartphones.
(Image source: Google)
As part of its multi-search feature, Google also allows searches to be conducted in multiple dimensions. You can, for instance, upload a picture of a specific type of dish you are looking for, and Google will tell you where to find it near you.
AR: Make People Understand and Be Understood
In IT, augmented reality (AR) is a new front line that will likely contribute to the development of existing technologies. It is not about the technology itself, but helping us pay more attention to what is happening.
(Google Glass V2 Image source: Google)
Take languages as an example, which is the basis of human communication. However, communication can become difficult if the other party does not speak the same language or has a hearing impairment. Translation and language transcription are two areas in which Google has applied its latest technology, and its early prototypes won audiences over.
Artificial Intelligence: Full of Surprises
Google I/O featured a lot of AI products as usual. The most significant announcement of the day was LaMDA 2, Google's most advanced conversational AI model to date, which drastically improves conversation quality by reducing incorrect or offensive responses. Furthermore, Google is using the technology for its search and other products.
For YouTube videos, there is also an option to automatically generate chapters and transcriptions. With DeepMind's multi-modal technology, YouTube videos can be automatically divided into chapters with greater accuracy. In addition, video transcripts can be generated through speech recognition.
Besides, Google Docs introduced an automatic summarization feature. The implementation of this feature also marks a significant leap forward in natural language processing. Google Docs can automatically parse words and pick the key points through a machine learning model, and it only takes a few seconds.
In addition, Google announced its largest self-researched language model, PaLM, based on 540 billion parameters. With the help of a new technology called "chain-of-thought," this model can transform problems that require multiple steps into a series of intermediate steps with very satisfying results.
(Chain-of-thought prompting Image source: Google)
In addition, using Nest Hub Max, you can start speaking to the Assistant by simply looking at it; your phone can see a shelf full of chocolate bars and pick one for you based on your search. As Google described it, it is a powerful version of Ctrl-F for the world around you.
(Image source: Google)
Android 13: Perfection Means Powerful
Google has revised its plans for Android 13, the next version of the most popular mobile OS. It seems to go even further than what Android 12 introduced. Google adds more content themes, allows users to set apps to use different languages, and adds security and privacy features. In addition, one noteworthy feature of Android 13 is the addition of Windows support, and someone has reportedly managed to run a Win11 Arm VM on a Google Pixel 6 running the Android 13 Developer Preview.
The new version of Android also adds a QR scanner to the locked screen interface, click to stream, a new photo picker, and the ability to assign languages to specific apps, among other features. These are all very useful.
Using Android, new smart home devices can be installed and controlled more easily. Google has enhanced Cast's ability to transmit audio and video to other devices and its Fast Pair service, which makes pairing with Bluetooth devices simple and fast.
Compared to Android 12, Android 13 does not make many improvements in comparison to its predecessor, but it does continue to optimize in many details to make the Android ecosystem even better and more robust.
The new beta is now available for Android users.
(Image source: Google)
Tensor Chip: Local, Not Cloud
Google announced plans to release an Android tablet next year, and no doubt, many Android developers are dreaming of getting their hands on such a device. As Google prepares to enter the tablet market again, one interesting feature is the tensor chip.
(Image source: Google)
Google is aiming to innovate on its own mobile platform, hoping that data will be processed locally rather than in the cloud. Google Tensor processors are already built into the Pixel 6, and Pixel 6 Pro flagship phones, giving users direct access to AI features like voice recognition. Combining this technology with Android's Private Compute Core, this technology can run data-driven functions directly on the device for privacy protection.
Google Wallet is Back
Audience members gasped when Google Wallet was mentioned at the conference. On the back of Google Wallet, there are some exciting features. It can hold your payment cards, passes, membership credits, vaccination records, etc. As Google puts it, the app is geared toward digital identity. In other words, you can use it directly as a driver's license, bank card, boarding pass, or ticket. It's also compatible with WearOS.
(Image source: Google)
Google Maps: An Immersive View
A new map mode in Google Maps allows you to take a bird's eye view of the streets. You can get an overview of the place in selected cities before you get lost to better understand the geography.
(London, San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles, and Tokyo debut together. Souce: Google)
A fascinating aspect of this feature is that, unlike drone shots, it uses neural rendering technology to create an experience through images alone. Through advances in 3D mapping and machine learning, billions of aerial and street view images are combined to produce a new, high-fidelity map.
By combining these breakthrough technologies, users will have an unprecedented experience of exploring a place in a way they've never seen before. Take the example of a user planning to visit Westminster with his family. Now, they can get this immersive view directly from Google Maps on their phone and move around the attraction to see the surrounding traffic, entertainment venues, and more.
With Google Cloud Immersive Stream, almost any smartphone can enjoy this experience. Later this year, Google Maps will offer this feature for select cities worldwide.
Privacy and Security: Reducing Collection and Use of User Data
In terms of security, Google has historically been criticized by the privacy community for its approach to user data collection.
Furthermore, Google aims to eliminate passwords in the future. In addition to making two-factor verification the default, it will create an authentication solution that uses multiple systems to eliminate the need for people to remember hundreds of passwords.
Android and Chrome users will be able to access virtual cards through Google. When online purchases are made, virtual credit cards will be generated. This method would hide the card number, reducing the risk of fraud and identity theft.
As part of its "protected computing" initiative, Google integrated fuzzy data to anonymize users. Where and how data is processed will change due to AI and cloud computing. Likewise, Google will minimize the personal use of data and reduce its collection and commercial access so that companies, including Google itself, cannot overuse users' information. Along with its "protected computing" technology, Google also said that it focused on adding additional security features by default to its products so that they could conduct more processing on the device itself instead of sending data elsewhere.
In addition, Google released security and privacy statements announcing a new "My Ad Center" interface in which users can choose the types of ads they see based on topics of interest or opt not to see ads on a given topic.
(Image source: Google)
Final Thoughts
Google I/O 2022 is an excellent showcase for mobile Internet technologies and products.
From leading the Internet to becoming an expert on customers, Internet enterprises may all have to think about making changes. When we consider Google outside the field of technology as a mainstream Internet giant, we observe that Google is moving out of the "search box" to "know" and "please" users through a variety of sensing data. The company is no longer focused on creating good products but rather on how to do better user-centered synergy.
