Google I/O 2019 Highlights AI Advancements and Accessibility Tools
Google reveals major AI upgrades and new accessibility projects at its annual I/O 2019 developer conference. The tech giant focuses on faster on-device machine learning and tools to help people with disabilities.
Google showcases artificial intelligence as the central theme of its I/O 2019 developer conference, following similar events from Facebook and Microsoft. The company announces the winners of its $25 million AI Impact Challenge, awarding grants of up to $2 million each to organizations across 12 nations that apply machine learning to solve major global problems.
In a push to demonstrate the societal benefits of AI, Google unveils three new accessibility projects. Project Euphonia helps people with speech impairments, Live Relay assists those with hearing challenges, and Project Diva allows users to give Google Assistant commands without using their voice. These tools highlight the company's commitment to inclusive technology design.
On the developer side, Google updates its ML Kit with new features like translation, object detection, and AutoML Vision Edge for custom image classification. Additionally, the company reveals that Google Assistant becomes 10 times faster through on-device machine learning, with the upgraded assistant arriving on Pixel phones later this year alongside new tools for voice app creators.