Google collects AI-based services across the company into Google.ai

One of the early announcements out of Google I/O 2017’s keynote was the launch of google.ai, with which Google aims to “bring the benefits of AI to everyone”. Google.ai is a collection of products and teams across Alphabet with a focus on AI.

There are several projects under Google.ai underway already, including using neural nets to build better neural nets and a particularly exciting project that looks to bring AI detection to healthcare. Google has worked with pathologists to build neural nets that can detect spreading cancer in lymph nodes with 85% accuracy compared to 70% with previous human methods. Google confessed a higher false positive rate currently, but the net is fast-learning.

Another biomedical application from Google.ai is improving the accuracy of DNA sequencing and helping unlock the wonders of our genetic code. Machine learning is also to predict the properties of molecules, cutting computing time by orders of magnitude, with Sundar Pichai saying “I’m confident that AI will invent new molecules that define in predetermined ways.”

Not everything in Google.ai is new and potentially life-saving. Google.ai also powers a feature we’ve already seen and loved: Google auto-draw.

Stay tuned to more out of Google I/O from Android Central!

Google unveils next generation of TPU for cloud computing

Google’s latest TPU boards are capable of generating 180 teraFLOPS of power!

At Google I/O today, Google CEO Sundar Pichai provided an update on next generation of the custom-made Tensor Processing Units (TPU) which Google uses power its Google Compute Engine.

These new cloud TPU feature four chips on a single board and are capable of generating 180 teraFLOPS, which equate to 180 trillion floating-point operations per second. Furthermore, Google has managed to link 64 of these TPUs into one TPU Pod super computer, for a combined processing power of 11.5 petaFLOPS. Pichai says this new technology “lays the foundation for significant progress”.

Google first announced TPUs at last year’s Google I/O event. T

Stay tuned to Android Central for all the updates from Google I/O 2017.

Actions are coming to Google Assistant on phones

Google Assistant has gotten plenty of time on stage at Google I/O, and one of the cooler announcements to come out is that Actions are coming to Google Assistant on Android and iOS. That means Assistant will be able to tap into some pretty cool third-party interactions on your mobile device.

On stage, Google showed off Assistant working with some transaction Actions, showing that it can handle payments, deliveries and more. One impressive demo involved ordering from Panera via Assistant, including making alterations to an order. Assistant even pulled address and payment information from existing data to streamline the process.

Currently, Google says, Assistant sports third-party integrations with 70 smart home partners. And since it’s open to any smart home device, look for more soon.

For more from Google I/O, be sure to keep following along with our liveblog.

Assistant finally lets you type to ask questions on your phone

Google Assistant is getting much more functional.

Google Assistant expanded to millions of Android devices earlier this year, with the service now installed on over 100 million. At I/O 2017, Google is introducing new features to make the Assistant much more functional.

According to Google, over 70% of all Assistant requests are expressed through natural language queries, with many of them being follow-up questions. Google is making the AI assistant more conversational and giving users new input methods — you’ll be able to finally type to ask Assistant questions on your phone.

Another key feature coming to Assistant is Google Lens integration. You’ll be able to point Assistant at a sign, and it will use Google Lens to automatically translate text from street signs, menus, and more. The Assistant will also recognize tickets, music, calendar appointments, and you have the ability to add the details to your calendar.

Google is looking to bring Assistant to more devices, including TVs, wearables, and cars. The service will be making its way to third-party devices, including the iPhone. Assistant is also picking up support for new languages — French, German, Japanese, and Brazilian Portuguese will be added by the summer; with Italian, Spanish, and Korean available by the end of the year.

Keep it locked to Android Central for the latest from Google I/O 2017.

Google Home is headed to 6 new countries this summer

A whole lot more people are about to get their hands on the Google Home smart speaker. As announced on stage at Google I/O 2017, Google Home is coming to six new countries this summer.

Here’s a look at where Google Home is headed:

• UK
• Canada
• Australia
• France
• Germany
• Japan

There’s no exact launch timeframe other than “this summer” for the above countries, but it’s good to know the expansion is on the horizon. Let us know if you’re planning to pick up Google Home in one of the above countries, and keep following along with Google I/O 2017 with our liveblog for more.

Google Home adds Proactive Assistant, Bluetooth connectivity, and 50 new features

Google Home has been a handy little device since it launched last fall, but some major features are coming to the little air-freshener look-alike. Today at Google I/O, Google Home Products VP Rishi Chandra announced Google Home is getting Proactive Assitance, Visual Responses, and much, much more.

Google Home has evolved since its launch, getting over 50 features in the last six months, including multi-user just in the last few weeks. We’re now also getting Proactive Assitance, which give you more data as it begins to recognize and understand the context of your day. Google home will light up to let you know that traffic is getting bad on the way to work and you should get going. It’s starting simple, with important things like flight delays and traffic jams, but Proactive Assistant will no doubt evolve s it comes to understand more about your life and your schedules.

We’re also getting more services that work with Google Home, such as Deezer, Soundcloud, and Spotfy’s free service in addition to the already-supported paid subscriptions. And an update is coming to let your Google Home turn into a Bluetooth speaker if you want to push the audio from yoru home that isn’t supported by Google Cast Audio.

Google Home is also getting more TV partners in addition to audio partners, including HBO Now. Google Home will have a better experience when you try to play something on the TV with your voice, allowing you to navigate YouTube and other services with your voice and choose from a selection of recommended or Watch Later videos.

Stay tuned to more out of Google I/O from Android Central!

Watch out, Alexa: Hands-free calling is coming to Google Home!

You’ll be able to call any landline or mobile number — for free!

As expected, Google announced some great new features for Google Home during the Google I/O keynote. One of the coolest new features is hands-free calling, which will allow you to call any landline or mobile number in the U.S. or Canada absolutely free.

This is a direct response to Amazon, who announced Alexa Calling for it’s Amazon Echo devices last week. But while Alexa Calling only lets you call anyone with an Echo speaker or the Alexa app installed on their phone, Google Home calling will allow you to call any landline or mobile number — no additional set-up, apps or phone required. Advantage, Google!

With Google Home calling, you’re able to link your number to Assistant or keep your number private. Google will also be able to recognize the voice of the caller to provide context — for example, if you share your Google Home with multiple people, it will recognize each individual voice, so when you ask it to “call Mom”, it will call your mom and not your roommate’s.

This feature will likely use the same API as Google Hangouts calling and will be rolling out to the U.S. first in the next few months.

Stay tuned to Android Central for all the updates from Google I/O 2017

Move over, Siri: Google Assistant is officially coming to iPhone

Google Assistant is ready to take on Apple’s Siri.

It was rumoured that Google planned to roll out Assistant as a separate iOS app, but now, while at the Google I/O developers conference, Google confirmed the speculation. Assistant is becoming a multi-platform voice assistant. But it won’t work like it does on Android devices due to API restrictions. For instance, on iOS, it’ll only be able to do stuff like play music from Spotify and send iMessages.

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You won’t be able to do things like set alarms, and you can’t assign Google Assistant to the Home button in order to replace Siri. But you can add a Google Assistant widget. By launching an app for iOS, Google will give developers more incentive to work with Google Assistant. Also, Google has a history of launching its services on iOS, because it cares about getting those services out to as many people as possible.

Starting today, we’re bringing the #GoogleAssistant to iPhones. Whether at home or on the go, your Assistant is here to help. #io17 pic.twitter.com/a6T20HwnU9

— Google (@Google) May 17, 2017

By bringing Google Assistant to iPhone users, it could open the door to wider Google Home adoption with Apple users. Check out Pocket-lint’s Google I/O guide to see what else Google has announced.

Google Home can now give you visual responses on phones and Chromecast

Google has announced a number of updates for Google Home at Google I/O 2017, demonstrating how the smart AI device will be able to take advantage of the screens around your house. 

Not only can you use services like YouTube and Netflix via Chromecast, triggered by Google Home, but that’s now expanded to a much wider range of services, like HBONow and Play Movies.

That’s not the most exciting news, however, because it goes much deeper into providing you with other information that Google Home can supply on request.

Google

For example, if you asking Google Home what your next appointment is it will tell you, but you can then have the directions for that event sent to your phone.

If you’d rather take a look at your calendar, you could also ask for that to be displayed on your TV, via Chromecast. Cleverly, because Google Home recognises your voice, if you have multiple users on your Home, it will pick the right calendar for you.

This new functionality – which will need an update to be pushed out to Chromecast – opens the door for a whole range of functions, the sort of things that Amazon’s new Echo Show will offer. You could, for example, show recipes on your kitchen TV, or be able to say things like “show me a set of bagpipes”. 

There’s no word on exactly when the new functionality will go live.

Google Home can now make hands-free phone calls like Amazon Echo

Google just made Google Home a more compelling rival to Amazon Echo.

Earlier this month, Amazon launched an Alexa calling service, giving Echo users the ability to phone other Echo users and users of the Alexa app. And if you have the new Echo Show, you can even do video calls. Amazon basically made its Echo lineup far superior to Google Home in terms of communication functionality, but now, mere weeks later, Google is leveling the playing field with a new calling feature.

• Amazon Alexa Calling: What is it and how do you use it?
• Move over, Alexa: More Cortana devices and skills are on the way
• Echo Show official: Amazon’s home hub offers video calling and more

While at Google I/O 2017, Google announced hands-free calling with Google Home. At launch, the feature will only support outgoing calls, meaning you won’t be able call the Home speaker from another Home or your smartphone. Eventually, Google Home will be able to call any phone number in the US or Canada through a voice command like “Okay Google, call Mom.” Calls will be completely free, too.

All users have to do is link their own phone numbers to the device. Anyone you call will see a private number when their phone rings, by default, though you can add your own number. And if your Google Home supports multiple users, you can pair multiple numbers so Google Home can recognise who is trying to call. Google has said it will roll out calling to all Google Home owners “over the coming months.”

Coming soon to #GoogleHome: hands-free calling. Call businesses, friends and family in the ???????? and ????????, even if you can’t reach your ???? #io17 pic.twitter.com/hvG6wtS9qf

— Google (@Google) May 17, 2017

Google indicated it will only support outbound calls due to customer privacy. The company also said it will add a block feature “in the coming weeks”. Check out Pocket-lint’s Google I/O guide to see what else Google has announced.