- Coldplay ticket scalping fiasco sparks backlash in India
- Droughts drive Spanish boom in pistachio farming
- Tokyo recovers some losses to lead Asian markets higher
- Rural schools empty in North Macedonia due to exodus
- US dockworkers launch strike after labor contract expires
- Thousands evacuated as Super Typhoon Krathon approaches Taiwan
- Kenya airport whistleblower fears for his life
- Sheinbaum to take office as Mexico's first woman president
- Scientists fear underfunded Argentina research on verge of collapse
- US port officials gird for strike despite last-minute bargaining
- With 118 dead from Hurricane Helene, Biden defends US government response
- Breeder who tried to create enormous trophy sheep jailed in US
- Qatar Airways seeking 25% stake in Virgin Australia
- US port officials gird for strike as labor talks stay stuck
- As toll crosses 100, Trump puts Hurricane Helene at election center stage
- US Fed Chair sees 'further disinflation' in economy
- Epic Games sues Google and Samsung over app store
- Officials see no shortages from likely US port strike
- UK families of Gaza hostages warn Lebanon attack 'takes focus away'
- Shares in Stellantis, Aston Martin skid on profit warnings
- Dali prints found in London garage sold at auction
- ECB chief backs bank mergers amid UniCredit, Commerzbank talk
- China stocks soar on stimulus, but US and Europe retreat
- 100 dead in storm Helene damage, flooding across US southeast
- China stocks soar on stimulus, Europe slides on automaker woes
- German antitrust watchdog steps up monitoring of Microsoft
- Nepal's urban poor count cost of 'nightmare' floods
- E.Guinea, Gabon clash at ICJ over oil-rich islands
- New blow for UK's Starmer as growth data disappoints
- China's top banks to tweak mortgage rates to boost housing market
- Muslim women break taboos navigating east London's waterways
- Nepal dam-building spree powers electric vehicle boom
- More than 60 dead from storm Helene as rescue, cleanup efforts grow
- Dozens missing, 9 dead in migrant boat wreck off Spanish Canaries
- Death toll from Hurricane John hits eight in Mexico
- Storm Helene's toll rises as rescue and cleanup efforts gain pace
- SpaceX launches mission to return stranded astronauts
- Storm Helene kills 44, threatens more 'catastrophic' flooding as cleanup begins
- SpaceX set to launch mission to return stranded astronauts
- Storm Helene kills 44, threatens more 'catastrophic' flooding
- Boeing strike grinds on as latest talks fail to reach agreement
- Iran 'news' sites, hackers target Trump ahead of US election
- US ports brace for potential dockworkers strike
- Japan's speedy, spotless Shinkansen bullet trains turn 60
- US hurricane deaths rise to 44, fears of more 'catastrophic' flooding
- Global stocks mostly rise, cheering Beijing stimulus
- Europe en route for Moon with new simulator, says astronaut Pesquet
- Fireworks forecast if comet survives risky Sun flypast
- Argentina judge orders dictionary to delete pejorative definition of 'Jewish'
- Global stocks rise on rate hopes, Beijing stimulus
Google goes big on ChatGPT-style chatbot
Google on Thursday rebranded its ChatGPT-style chatbot to Gemini, giving it unprecedented prominence on its products, as the tech titan's AI race with Microsoft heats up.
The name change from Bard comes a year after the search engine giant rushed out its chatbot in a frantic bid to catch up with Microsoft's Bing chatbot, which was released through its partnership with OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT.
Since their launch, the chatbots have expanded into generating images as well as texts in answers to simple prompts, basing themselves on data trawled from the internet.
Crucially, Gemini will be available through an easy-to-see link on the company's Google app on iPhones, signaling that the AI chatbot is becoming an integral part of its consumer experience on par with search.
Google also said it was releasing Gemini Ultra 1.0, its most powerful generative AI model yet, which will be available as an advanced chatbot for $20 a month in 150 countries -- but only in English.
The less powerful Gemini and Gemini Advanced will be standalone apps on Android phones and integrated into the Google app on iPhone.
For now, the apps are not available in Europe, with the company indicating that it still has to figure out regulatory hurdles there.
The announcement by Google came a day after Microsoft said it had revamped its equivalent Copilot app, which is the new name for the Bing chatbot.
Microsoft said it was running an ad during Sunday's Super Bowl that would promote the use of its Copilot standalone app.
As some doubts persist on the long-term use cases for generative AI chatbots, both Google and Microsoft put forward their product's ability to enhance creativity online.
D.Goldberg--CPN