🤖 Google's Gemini 2.0 kicks off the "agentic era"

Hi AI Futurists,

Today we’re looking at Gemini 2.0, Google’s most advanced AI model yet, marking the start of what Google is calling the "agentic era." Gemini 2.0 introduces multimodal outputs, tool integration, and step-by-step reasoning and such much more, bringing us closer to a true universal AI assistant. Let’s take a look.

Here’s our agenda.

• Venice AI

• A deep dive into Gemini 2.0

• Top 3 selected AI tools

• Top news on the AI horizon

Best,
Lex

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What’s new with Gemini 2.0?

Google has officially unveiled Gemini 2.0, a groundbreaking AI model designed for what they’re calling the "agentic era." If Gemini 1.0 focused on understanding and organizing information across multimodal inputs, 2.0 takes it further with native multimodal outputs, agent-like actions, and tool use capabilities. Sundar Pichai described it as the next step in creating a "universal assistant" that doesn’t just process data but helps users achieve goals through complex reasoning and step-by-step problem-solving.

At the heart of this release is Gemini 2.0 Flash, an experimental model offering supercharged performance, low latency, and new abilities like generating images and multilingual text-to-speech. Developers can access it now via the Gemini API, with more features rolling out in early 2024. Google is also testing projects like Project Astra, which uses Gemini 2.0 to enable multimodal understanding on Android devices, and Project Mariner, which explores web-based AI assistance for complex browser tasks. These advances reflect Google’s strategy to build safer, more capable AI systems that blend seamlessly into everyday tools like Search, Maps, and Workspace.

For developers, this release is rich with potential. The Multimodal Live API introduces real-time audio and video-streaming inputs, unlocking new possibilities for dynamic apps. Jules, a coding assistant powered by Gemini, hints at a future where AI agents assist not only in brainstorming but also in executing tasks like debugging or web navigation. Whether it's personalized productivity, gaming, or even robotics, Gemini 2.0 feels like a major step toward versatile, context-aware AI tools.

Important Points

• Gemini 2.0 Flash: An experimental AI model that outperforms previous versions with faster response times, native multimodal outputs (images, text, audio), and advanced capabilities like tool use and multilingual text-to-speech.

• Developer Access: Available now via the Gemini API in Google AI Studio and Vertex AI, with broader access and additional features like real-time audio and video inputs arriving in 2024.

• Agentic Capabilities: Enables a new era of AI assistance, including multi-step reasoning, compositional function-calling, and native tool use, laying the foundation for AI agents that can take action with user supervision.

• Project Astra: A universal AI assistant prototype with improved dialogue, tool integration (Search, Lens, Maps), memory, and latency. Currently tested on Android and prototype smart glasses.

• Project Mariner: An AI agent designed for browser tasks, capable of reasoning across web content and automating workflows, with active research to ensure safety and accuracy.

• Jules: An AI-powered coding assistant that helps developers with GitHub workflows, from planning to execution, under user direction.

• Safety First: Google employs advanced safety mechanisms, including robust risk assessments, AI-assisted red teaming, and user-centric privacy controls to ensure responsible development and deployment.

• Broader Applications: Gemini 2.0 integrates into tools like Search and Workspace, while also exploring uses in gaming and robotics for both virtual and real-world assistance.

What I’ll be doing

While not a developer, I’ve been playing around with several features since the Gemini 2.0 release. The screen share feature has been particularly interesting, making it easy to have AI watch and provide real time context based on what you’re doing on your computer. Even if you’re not a developer or coder, there’s plenty you can learn just by spending 30 mins or so poking around. Try it here >

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On the Horizon

• Apple’s iOS 18.2 Update Adds AI-Driven Features

• What to know about iOS 18.2′s new AI tools, from Genmoji to ChatGPT

• Stanford researchers look into AI tools to help fight cancer and other diseases

• Target Debuts New Bullseye Gift Finder, an AI Product Recommendation Tool

• AI Entertainment Studios: The New Breed of Companies Pioneering Gen AI-Powered Production

• Researchers reduce bias in AI models while preserving or improving accuracy

• Apple reportedly developing AI server chip with Broadcom

• Southern Adventist University trains AI to identify dinosaur teeth

• Open Source AI is Leading to Breakthroughs in Healthcare, Education and Entrepreneurship

That’s all for today, folks!

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