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Project Astra And Mariner Showcased As Key Innovations In Gemini 2.0

• Written by Kiara Fabbri Former Tech News Writer
• Fact-Checked by Justyn Newman Former Lead Cybersecurity Editor

Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai announced on Wednesday the launch of Gemini 2.0, a new iteration of the company’s AI model, aimed at advancing capabilities in multimodal reasoning and the development of intelligent agents.

In a Rush? Here are the Quick Facts!

• Gemini 2.0 Flash offers low latency and improved performance for developers.
• Project Astra improves dialogue and memory, supporting multilingual communication and integration tools.
• Project Mariner, an early prototype, successfully navigates web tasks with 83.5% success.

With Gemini 2.0, Google moves closer to its vision of creating a universal assistant, with new features that will expand the utility of artificial intelligence across various domains.

The launch of Gemini 2.0 follows the introduction of Gemini 1.0 in December 2023, which marked the beginning of Google’s push into multimodal AI, capable of processing and understanding text, images, video, audio, and code.

Now, with the release of Gemini 2.0, these capabilities are further enhanced, allowing for both input and output of multiple modalities, including images, video, and even text-to-speech in multiple languages.

At the core of Gemini 2.0 is its “agentic” nature, meaning it can reason through problems and take actions on behalf of the user with their supervision. The release marks the beginning of a broader effort to integrate these advanced capabilities into everyday products.

These capabilities bring Gemini 2.0 closer to becoming a universal assistant, capable of supporting various applications across industries.

For developers, the launch also includes the Gemini 2.0 Flash model, a workhorse with low latency and improved performance, available through the Gemini API and Google AI Studio. This model aims to offer real-time, efficient interactions, significantly improving the speed and effectiveness of AI applications.

Gemini 2.0 Flash will be available to developers in early 2024, and users can experience an upgraded version of the Gemini assistant via the Gemini app, which is optimized for mobile and desktop access.

Additionally, new projects powered by Gemini 2.0 that showcase the evolving capabilities of AI agents. Project Astra is an AI assistant that uses multimodal understanding to interact with the real world. It has received valuable feedback from trusted testers, allowing Google to refine its capabilities.

The latest updates include improved dialogue, with support for multiple languages and accents, and new tool integrations like Google Search, Lens, and Maps. Project Astra also boasts better memory, allowing it to recall past conversations, and lower latency, enabling near-instant responses.

Google is expanding its tester program and plans to bring these features to various devices, including prototype glasses.

Project Mariner, another project powered by Gemini 2.0, is a browser-based AI agent designed to assist with complex tasks. It can navigate web pages, understand text, code, images, and forms, and perform tasks like filling out forms.

Although still in early stages, it has demonstrated impressive performance, achieving 83.5% success on the WebVoyager benchmark. Safety measures are in place, such as requiring user confirmation before sensitive actions.

Additionally, Google is experimenting with AI agents in gaming, where they help navigate virtual worlds, and in robotics, using Gemini 2.0’s spatial reasoning for real-world applications. Google emphasizes responsible development, working with experts to mitigate risks and ensure safety in these advanced AI systems.

Photo by Joshua Hoehne on Unsplash

Epic Games Partners With Telefónica To Pre-Install Games App on Android Devices

• Written by Andrea Miliani Former Tech News Expert

The American video game company Epic Games and Telefonica, one of the world’s largest telecom service providers with 392 million customers globally, announced today a long-term partnership to expand Epic Games Store access.

In a Rush? Here are the Quick Facts!

• Epic Games and Telefónica announced partnership to preinstall Epic Games Store on compatible Android devices
• Telefonica customers will easily download games like Fortnite and Fall Guys and will get more benefits next year
• The alliance will help Epic Games regain visibility and popularity after mobile ban

Epic Games explained in a press release that Telefónica will pre-install its marketplace app on all compatible Android devices in Spain, Germany, the United Kingdom, and more Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America.

Users will be able to download faster popular games developed by the videogame company like Fortnite , Rocket League Sideswipe , and Fall Guys . For next year, the companies expect to bring more benefits for Telefonica’s clients.

“With this collaboration with Epic Games we strengthen our relationship and go one step further in delivering high-quality, accessible, and innovative digital experiences to our customers,” said Lorena Itziar Senador-Gómez Lázaro, Telefónica’s Director of Partnerships and Devices.

This business strategy helps the video game company regain popularity and visibility as they have been facing challenges in the market. Epic Games recently filed a lawsuit against Samsung and Google for using Auto Blocker, favoring Google Play Store and preventing them from competing on equal conditions.

According to Reuters , Fortnite has also been banned on iPhones and Android since 2020 and Epic Games was recently allowed by the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) to relaunch the game.

“Thanks to our partnership with Telefónica, players will now be able to access the Epic Games Store, Fortnite and soon games from third party developers directly on their Android device. We look forward to expanding our collaboration with Telefónica to bring even more benefits to players,” said Michael Modon, Senior Director of Growth Partnerships for Epic Games.