Project Astra And Mariner Showcased As Key Innovations In Gemini 2.0

Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai announced on Wednesday the launch of Gemini 2.0, a new iteration of the company’s AI model, aimed at advancing capabilities in multimodal reasoning and the development of intelligent agents.

With Gemini 2.0, Google moves closer to its vision of creating a universal assistant, with new features that will expand the utility of artificial intelligence across various domains.

The launch of Gemini 2.0 follows the introduction of Gemini 1.0 in December 2023, which marked the beginning of Google’s push into multimodal AI, capable of processing and understanding text, images, video, audio, and code.

Now, with the release of Gemini 2.0, these capabilities are further enhanced, allowing for both input and output of multiple modalities, including images, video, and even text-to-speech in multiple languages.

At the core of Gemini 2.0 is its “agentic” nature, meaning it can reason through problems and take actions on behalf of the user with their supervision. The release marks the beginning of a broader effort to integrate these advanced capabilities into everyday products.

These capabilities bring Gemini 2.0 closer to becoming a universal assistant, capable of supporting various applications across industries.

For developers, the launch also includes the Gemini 2.0 Flash model, a workhorse with low latency and improved performance, available through the Gemini API and Google AI Studio. This model aims to offer real-time, efficient interactions, significantly improving the speed and effectiveness of AI applications.

Gemini 2.0 Flash will be available to developers in early 2024, and users can experience an upgraded version of the Gemini assistant via the Gemini app, which is optimized for mobile and desktop access.

Additionally, new projects powered by Gemini 2.0 that showcase the evolving capabilities of AI agents. Project Astra is an AI assistant that uses multimodal understanding to interact with the real world. It has received valuable feedback from trusted testers, allowing Google to refine its capabilities.

The latest updates include improved dialogue, with support for multiple languages and accents, and new tool integrations like Google Search, Lens, and Maps. Project Astra also boasts better memory, allowing it to recall past conversations, and lower latency, enabling near-instant responses.

Google is expanding its tester program and plans to bring these features to various devices, including prototype glasses.

Project Mariner, another project powered by Gemini 2.0, is a browser-based AI agent designed to assist with complex tasks. It can navigate web pages, understand text, code, images, and forms, and perform tasks like filling out forms.

Although still in early stages, it has demonstrated impressive performance, achieving 83.5% success on the WebVoyager benchmark. Safety measures are in place, such as requiring user confirmation before sensitive actions.

Additionally, Google is experimenting with AI agents in gaming, where they help navigate virtual worlds, and in robotics, using Gemini 2.0’s spatial reasoning for real-world applications. Google emphasizes responsible development, working with experts to mitigate risks and ensure safety in these advanced AI systems.