Media reports that Google is developing an artificial intelligence software that mimics human reasoning capabilities, similar to OpenAI's o1 model. Analysis suggests that this marks a new frontier in the competition between Google and the rapidly growing OpenAI. At the same time, Google is also developing an AI laboratory assistant product, hoping to help laboratories improve research efficiency.

Concerns about falling too far behind OpenAI and remaining competitive.

According to sources familiar with the matter who spoke to the media, Google's multiple teams have made progress in artificial intelligence reasoning software in recent months. This type of software performs better in solving multi-step problems in fields like mathematics and computer programming.

Currently, Google's artificial intelligence researchers are trying to drive the next major advancement in technology. Like OpenAI, Google is also attempting to simulate human reasoning using a technique called "chain-of-thought prompting." According to two informed sources, this technique was initially developed by Google. The software pauses for several seconds before responding to written prompts and, out of the user's view, considers a series of relevant prompts to come up with what appears to be the optimal response.

Since OpenAI introduced its o1 model, Google and OpenAI have been vying for dominance in the field of artificial intelligence, especially after OpenAI launched the popular chatbot ChatGPT. This has raised concerns among some investors that the demand for Google search may gradually decline.

To reclaim its leading position, Google has taken various measures, including merging its top research labs into the Google DeepMind division and strengthening the relationship between researchers and product teams. However, Google is still relatively slow in launching artificial intelligence products, mainly because it needs to consider ethical issues, maintain public trust in its brand, and balance the competitive interests of multiple similar projects within the company.

According to another source familiar with the matter who spoke to the media, some employees at Google DeepMind have been concerned about the company falling behind since OpenAI launched its o1 model in mid-September. However, as Google showcased its own progress, these concerns have eased.

Analysis believes that despite Google's slower product release pace, it remains a strong competitor. Senior ai researcher and founder of TrueMedia.org, Oren Etzioni, said:

"Technically speaking, Google's capabilities have always been top-notch, they are just more conservative in product releases. This is a marathon, where anyone has the chance to win the race."

Developing AI Lab Assistant

Moreover, according to the Financial Times, Google DeepMind is developing an AI Lab Assistant to help researchers plan scientific experiments and better predict experimental results. The project is led by Google AI department head Sir Demis Hassabis, aiming to assist interdisciplinary collaboration among scientists, making it easier to discover unexpected connections.

At a recent event organized by the Nobel Foundation, Hassabis stated that ai software is sparking a "revolution" in the field of biology.

"We are developing a scientific language model that can act like a research assistant, and might even help you predict the outcome of experiments."

He also mentioned that in the coming years, tools being developed by DeepMind can suggest and design experiments based on given hypotheses, providing scientists with a probabilistic view of the likelihood of experiment success or failure.

Currently, various companies are rushing to find specialized applications suitable for energy and data-intensive ai models. German pharmaceutical company biontech and its AI subsidiary, InstaDeep, based in London, have designed a dedicated AI assistant named Laila, equipped with "detailed biological knowledge", and built on the open-source Llama 3.1 model by Meta.

During a live demonstration, research scientist Arnu Pretorius demonstrated how the ai agent automates routine tasks in experimental biology, such as analyzing and segmenting DNA sequences, as well as visualizing experimental results.

BioNTech scientists also demonstrated how Laila connects laboratory equipment and monitors experiments in progress or tasks performed by robots. During the live demonstration, the assistant even detected a mechanical malfunction of a BioNTech siasun robot&automation.

"We do not believe the future will be completely dominated by ai automation. We consider ai agents like Laila as tools to enhance productivity, enabling scientists and technicians to focus limited time on truly important matters," said InstaDeep CEO Karim Beguir.

Editor/Lambor