Google co-founder Sergey Brin has reportedly returned to the company’s headquarters to assist in developing the ChatGPT rival Gemini and boost Google’s AI initiatives. According to The Wall Street Journal, Brin, who stepped down from an executive role at Alphabet in 2019, has become increasingly involved in Google’s AI strategy by collaborating with researchers. His involvement includes technical matters like measuring the performance of AI, hiring researchers, and organizing weekly meetings to discuss fresh AI research. Brin’s deepened engagement comes at a critical time for Google, as it faces fierce competition in the rapidly advancing field of AI.
The Wall Street Journal reports that the increased involvement of Sergey Brin reflects his passion for AI and Google’s challenges in keeping pace with competitors’ commercialization of AI. To rival OpenAI’s GPT-4 model, Google is focusing efforts on Gemini, an AI model developed by Google DeepMind under the leadership of Demis Hassabis. In response to ChatGPT, Google previously launched its own chatbot called Bard. However, Google’s AI ambitions faced another threat this week when Meta unveiled Llama 2, a new version of its language model created in partnership with Microsoft, bringing generative AI to developers and companies.
The release of Llama 2 by Meta and Microsoft poses a challenge to Google’s AI endeavors. Although the model is open source, special permission from Meta is required for licensees with over 700 million monthly active users who wish to utilize the model, as stated in the terms and conditions.
Google has yet to respond to Insider’s request for comment. Sergey Brin’s return to Google signals a renewed focus on AI and a dedication to developing Gemini—a move aimed at ensuring Google remains competitive and at the forefront of the AI race.
