Did Google try and trick us all with Gemini?

Welcome to AI Collision 💥,

A comical and colorful scene of a shifty, sneaky person trying to trick a crowd of people. The trickster is wearing a flamboyant, multicolored suit, with a sly grin and exaggerated sneaky expressions, holding a deck of cards in one hand and a magic wand in the other. The crowd consists of diverse people, with a mix of surprised, amused, and skeptical expressions. The background is a vibrant street scene, with colorful buildings, street performers, and lively decorations, adding to the whimsical and entertaining atmosphere of the scene.

In today’s collision between AI and our world,

Is Google pulling a swifty?
What’s a billion when you’re worth two billion?
Cookie Monster sponsored by… Monster

If that’s enough to get the video editing, read on…

AI Collision 💥 did Google try to trick us all?

Last week Sundar Pichai (CEO of Google) published a tweet on X.com.

As soon as I saw it, I copied the link and sent it to my fellow editors at Southbank Investment Research with the caption:

“Yep we’re all f****d.”

Here’s the link to Picahi’s tweet…

Go check it out. See what you think.

Now you’ve seen it, how f****d do you think we are?

In the fast-evolving world of artificial intelligence, Google has now unleashed its latest “masterpiece”, Gemini.

To say it turned heads and sparked conversations is an understatement.

From what it looks like, Gemini is not just another AI model; it’s a statement of intent from Google in the ongoing AI arms race among tech giants.

Think about a world where AI seamlessly blends text, images, audio, video and code. Where all you need is an idea and the AI does the rest.

That’s the world Gemini promises. This AI model is a multitasking marvel, designed to understand and integrate a diverse array of information types.

According to Google, it’s what is known as multimodal and ready to tackle a vast spectrum of tasks – from solving complex mathematical problems to generating Python code and understanding natural language.

There will be three distinct versions of Gemini: Ultra, Pro and Nano. Each version serves a unique purpose.

Ultra, the most advanced version, is built for the most complex of tasks, making it a powerhouse of AI capabilities.

Pro is the all-rounder, designed for a broad spectrum of tasks.

And Nano, the most efficient, is tailor-made for on-device applications, more or less bringing AI capabilities directly to users’ fingertips.

The performance metrics are spectacular. The claims are that Gemini outshines its predecessors and competitors across a range of multimodal tasks. And watching that video on Pichai’s X timeline, you’d probably agree.

However, amidst the excitement, it’s important to remain vigilant about where the truth lies.

For all the initial shine and excitement of the video showing off Gemini, things have taken a little turn for Google.

The hype was instant. But on looking back at it all again, something just isn’t quite right.

There are concerns about the editing of Gemini’s demonstration video, that perhaps the responses weren’t as good as indicated. That maybe the prompts were more specific than general to get the outcomes seen.

Exactly where the truth lies… I’m not sure. I don’t think anyone is. But it’s clear that Google wanted to make a splash. And that, it did.

But it also reminds us of the need for transparency and honesty in the AI industry. As these tech giants race to outdo each other, at an unfathomable speed, the line between reality and marketing can sometimes blur.

It’s crucial for companies to maintain integrity and for consumers to stay informed and critical.

The bottom line is that Gemini does look like a significant technological achievement, a symbol of the rapid advancements and intense competition in the field of AI.

But it’s also a reminder that what’s at stake here is bigger, more important, more lucrative.

It’s you. These tech giants want you to use and pay for their AI, and they will move heaven and earth to ensure that you’re funnelling your time, data and money to them, and not to the competition.

Just be aware, things look good for Google. If Gemini is that good, then it may prove to be the launchpad for its stock price to reach new highs.

But at the same time, no one is sitting still on AI. Microsoft, Amazon, Google, Meta – they’re all going for the top spot. And don’t forget Apple too. As quiet as it’s been on AI, make no mistake: Apple is working hard on it, and it’s that silence that may mean when it does go all-in on AI, it might be the ones that trumps all the others

AI Gone Wild 🤪

On Thursday I wrote to you about the next billion dollars Elon Musk was raising for X.ai, his big move into the AI space with his “Grok” AI model.

Elon will get the capital, no doubt.

I also put the idea to you to keep an eye on the capital that was flowing into AI companies. After all, the last couple of years has certainly been a tightening of the old capital belts for high-growth tech companies.

Well if a billion for Elon was significant, how about another few hundred million for a small French AI startup called Mistral?

The joke going around the AI industry last week was that Google released a fancy video and Mistral released an 87Gb torrent.

That’s funny to geeks like me.

The point is that Mistral is an AI company that’s focused on releasing real open-source AI models to the world.

Considering the last couple of weeks we’ve really focused in on how companies are looking to commercialise AI and lift their company’s financial performance around it, it’s refreshing to see companies like Mistral pushing ahead down the open-source path.

That said, it also just completed a $414 million funding raise, giving the company a roughly $2 billion valuation.

So as open source as it might be, at some point, the dollar signs will also be flashing pretty brightly in its eyes (if not already).

I think this just affirms our case that capital into the right sectors is loose and free, when it wants to be. And there’s a lot of capital that’s been waiting for a moment like this to go all-in on the next big investment opportunity that will span decades.

AI is it – the money is moving, and it’s shaping up to make 2024 a bonkers year for the tech market me thinks. 🧐

Boomers & Busters 💰

AI and AI-related stocks moving and shaking up the markets this week. (All performance data below over the rolling week).

man in black suit jacket and black pants figurine — Photo by Gilly on Unsplash

Boom 📈

Appen (ASX:APX) up 20%
WiMi Hologram Cloud (NASDAQ:WIMI) up 19%
iRobot (NASDAQ:IRBT) up 8%

Bust 📉

Symbotic Inc (NASDAQ:SYM) down 11%
Cyngn (NASDAQ:CYN) down 21%
Wearable Devices (NASDAQ:WLDS) down 26%

From the hive mind 🧠

This is one of the downsides of AI getting a lot better: filthbags will start using it to do horrible things.
Regulators gunna regulate I guess 🤷 – it’s a bit like punch first, ask questions later. And the EU is certainly punching first.
Does any big tech company not have its own AI model yet? Here’s another to add to the long list of companies releasing their own AI, “Rakuten has entered the chat”.

Artificial Polltelligence 🗳️ : The Results Show

I’ve been toying with the idea of using an AI avatar to do simple videos like market price updates.

But one thing has been holding me back – do people want it or even care about what they see when they get their market data?

So that was our poll last week.

And the winner is…

A movie star, exuding charisma and style, gracefully accepting an Oscar award. The star is in a dapper, classic black tuxedo with a bow tie, radiating confidence and charm. He has neatly styled hair and a broad, engaging smile, holding the Oscar statuette proudly. The setting is the Oscar ceremony stage, adorned with elegant decorations and bright lights, with an audience of celebrities and industry professionals applauding enthusiastically in the background.

Real me!

You love me, you really love me…

Jokes aside, interesting to see that most votes would still prefer to get info like market data from a real person. But also that a big chunk of you wouldn’t care.

No one actually preferred outright for AI avatar me, which I’m quite grateful for!

Here are the final results anyway for proof.

I don’t think it’s something I’m going to roll out (yet at least) or not until the AI avatars are SO GOOD that you couldn’t tell anyway.

So until then, it’s just real me you’ll have to deal with.

Weirdest AI image of the day

Cookie Monster promoting Monster Energy – r/Weirddalle

r/weirddalle - Cookie Monster promoting Monster Energy

ChatGPT quote of the day

“AI is a fundamental, horizontal technology that will be used in every industry, and it’s going to create a whole new generation of products and services.” – Sundar Pichai