Google I/O 2018 Highlights AI Push and Smarter Assistant
Google rebrands its research division to Google AI and introduces a more natural "continued conversation" feature for Google Assistant. Google Photos also receives new AI-powered editing tools.
Google kicks off its annual I/O developer conference at Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View, California, with a strong focus on artificial intelligence. The company announces it is rebranding its Google Research division to Google AI, signaling a major shift in its research and development priorities toward computer vision, natural language processing, and neural networks.
Google makes interacting with the Google Assistant feel much more natural by introducing a "continued conversation" feature. Users no longer need to say "Hey Google" before every single command, and they can ask multiple questions within a single request. This update removes the jarring interruptions of previous voice interactions and makes the Assistant feel like an actual conversation rather than a series of disconnected queries.
Google Photos receives a significant AI boost with new smart editing capabilities. The updated app automatically suggests quick fixes like brightness corrections, suggested rotations, and even colorization for black-and-white photos. By offering these powerful, automated tools, Google continues to position Photos as an essential hub for user images while gathering valuable data to improve its overall image recognition technology.