- UN says 2 peacekeepers wounded in south Lebanon explosions
- Injury-hit Australia thrash 'embarrassing' Pakistan at Women's T20 World Cup
- Internal TikTok documents show prioritization of traffic over well-being
- Israel says fired at 'immediate threat' near UN position in Lebanon
- New US coach Pochettino hails Pulisic but worries over workload
- Brazil orders closure of 2,000 betting sites
- UK govt urged to raise pro-democracy tycoon's case with China
- Sculptor Lalanne's animal creations sell for $59 mn
- From Tesla to Trump: Behind Musk's giant leap into politics
- US, European markets rise as investors weigh rates, earnings
- In Colombia, children trade plastic waste for school supplies
- Supercharged hurricanes trigger 'perfect storm' for disinformation
- JPMorgan Chase profits top estimates, bank sees 'resilient' US economy
- Djokovic proves staying power as he progresses to Shanghai semi-finals
- Sheffield Utd boss Wilder 'numb' after Baldock death
- Little progress at key meet ahead of COP29 climate summit
- Fans immerse themselves in Marina Abramovic's first China exhibition
- Israel says conducting review after UN peacekeepers wounded in Lebanon
- 'Party atmosphere': Skygazers treated to another aurora show
- Djokovic 'overwhelmed' after 'greatest rival' Nadal's retirement
- Zelensky in Berlin says hopes war with Russia will end next year
- Kyrgyzstan opens rare probe into glacier destruction
- European Mediterranean states discuss Middle East, migration
- Djokovic proves staying power as progresses to Shanghai semi-finals
- Hurricane Milton leaves at least 16 dead as Florida cleans up
- Britain face 'ultimate challenge' in America's Cup duel with New Zealand
- Lebanon calls for 'immediate' ceasefire in Israel-Hezbollah war
- Nihon Hidankyo: Japan's A-bomb survivors awarded Nobel
- Thunberg leads pro-Palestinian, climate protest in Milan
- Boat captain rescued clinging to cooler in Gulf of Mexico after storm Milton
- Tears, warnings after Japan atomic survivors group win Nobel
- 'Unspeakable horror': the attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
- Stock markets diverge before China weekend briefing
- Christian villagers 'trapped' in south Lebanon crossfire
- Sabalenka sets up Gauff showdown in Wuhan semis
- EU questions shopping app Temu over illegal products risk
- Kim Sei-young holds lead with late birdies at LPGA Shanghai
- Toulouse welcome Dupont 'boost' as Olympic star returns to Top 14
- Japanese atomic bomb survivor group Nihon Hidankyo wins Nobel Peace Prize
- Deadly Israeli strike on Beirut likely targeted Hezbollah security chief
- Bangladesh Islamist chief backs crimes against humanity trial for ex-PM
- Everest climber's remains believed found after 100 years
- 20 Pakistan coal miners shot dead in attack
- Clashes on South China Sea, Ukraine dominate Asia summit
- Han Kang's books sell out in South Korea after Nobel win
- Zelensky meets Pope, Scholz as whirlwind Europe tour ends
- Hello Hallyu: why is South Korean culture sweeping the globe?
- UK economy rebounds in August in boost to new govt
- Voice of Japan's beloved robot cat 'Doraemon' dies
- Shanghai markets sink ahead of briefing on mixed day for Asia
'More than a chatbot': Google touts firm's AI tech
Google's position as king of the search engines is under threat like never before, but the firm's global policy chief told AFP this week it still had the edge over its AI competitors.
Kent Walker played down the idea that viral AI chatbots like ChatGPT could challenge Google's crown, stressing that his firm had spent the past decade integrating artificial intelligence into its products.
"It's important to realise that AI is far more than just a chatbot," he said in an interview on Wednesday in Malaga, southern Spain, where Google is opening its biggest European cybersecurity centre.
He said AI would transform the way we conduct science and stressed that anyone who had used Google Maps, Translate, Gmail or search recently had been benefitting from AI.
"We've been using AI to power search for a dozen years," he said.
"We're finding new ways to use generative AI tools to expand the different ways people can search."
- Enter Microsoft -
A year ago, the launch of ChatGPT by the California firm OpenAI lodged in the public's imagination the idea of generative AI -- computer programmes that can generate content with just a few instructions.
Microsoft, already a backer of OpenAI, ramped up its support to the tune of billions of dollars and began sprinkling AI stardust over its search engine Bing.
The early reviews were good and suddenly, for the first time this century, Google seemed to have a genuine competitor.
Google quickly unveiled its own chatbot -- named Bard in honour of William Shakespeare -- and Walker conceded that rapid advances with chatbots had influenced his company.
"I would say the rise of AI chatbots accelerated our work and expanded popular acceptance of AI in a more visible way, and we have doubled down on our work," he said.
- 'Always a balance' -
But Google is no longer a bold startup. It is a sprawling trillion-dollar global entity with many divisions and stakeholders.
In recent times it has become more notable for its cautious approach to new technology rather than for pushing the boundaries.
And Walker, who joined Google in 2006 and heads its legal and policy teams, chose his words carefully on AI's potential to upend the search engine market.
"It's always a balance because some of these new AI tools are not always as accurate as traditional search," he said.
AI tools like ChatGPT are known to invent details of people's lives, cite fake academic papers or pass off their own creations as fact.
"So we need to make sure to use our traditional experience in search to ground the results in accurate, authoritative information," said Walker.
"So we are blending AI into search -- what we call a search generative experience -- to have the best of both worlds."
Google's current difficulties go further than competition in the AI space, however.
A high-profile trial in the United States is probing its dominance of the search market.
Among the most damaging revelations has been that Google pays billions to Apple to ensure it continues as the default engine on its products.
Walker was sanguine, though, saying the case has given his firm the chance to show that users choose Google "because they want to, not because they have to".
He said Google worked with other platforms to make it easier for users to find their products.
"We hope the court will agree with this," he said. "We'll probably find out in the spring of next year."
X.Karnes--AMWN