News
Google Brain and DeepMind Merge to Create AI Superpower
It’s no secret that the AI race between OpenAI and Google accelerated in 2023. OpenAI’s ChatGPT which is based on language model GPT-3 made its debut in late 2022. Recently, OpenAI featured its new model upgrade called GPT-4, a more advanced language model that powers ChatGPT for premium users, while Google Bard is Google’s next move in winning the AI race. Still, that’s not all. Google’s parent company Alphabet announced that its key AI divisions, Google Brain and DeepMind will be merged to create an AI superpower and rival Microsoft and OpenAI.
From Brain to Mind: Google DeepMind
DeepMind was founded in 2010 when rapid AI development wasn’t expected to be at its peak until the foreseeable future. One of its most popular products included AlphaStar, an AI that successfully beat professional gamers in StarCraft. The company was acquired in 2014 by Google’s parent company, Alphabet.
Google Brain was founded by Google in 2011. The company focused on developing machine-learning-powered solutions and combining them with different informational systems and resources. One of the products includes TensorFlow, an open-source framework designed for developing deep neural networks.
Now, Google’s CEO Sundar Pichai announced that key AI divisions, Google Brain and DeepMind will merge to create Google DeepMind, to focus on exponential growth of generative AI systems and delivering new AI-driven products.
“Combining all this talent into one focused team, backed by the computational resources of Google, will significantly accelerate our progress in AI,” Google CEO Sundar Pichai wrote on Google’s blog, earlier this month.
Google Brain and DeepMind: New Old CEO
A separate blog post on DeepMind’s website features a recap of Google DeepMind’s new CEO Demis Hassabis’s statement where he didn’t hide his excitement about joint forces with Google Brain. He said that Google Brain and DeepMind merging will allow them to transform the AI industry and improve the lives of billions of people.
However, to achieve that, the newly-merged AI company will have to accelerate its workflow and solve various problems and challenges that the AI industry is facing right now.
The CEO of Google DeepMInd Demis Hassabis is expected to support the development of the “most capable” general AI systems and conduct research to improve the next generation of AI systems. Google Research will also focus on advancing computer science with an emphasis on algorithms, security, privacy, quantum computing, sustainability, and climate change.
“I’m so excited for the next phase of this journey, the progress we’ll make against our mission, and all the ways we’ll help people reach their potential with increasingly capable and responsible AI,” Pichai said about the Google Brain and DeepMind merge.
