Google I/O 2018: Sundar Pichai bets big on AI in healthcare, Android P; JOMO, Shush make headlines

By Sreeraman Thiagarajan

Sundar Pichai started off the event on a rather cheesy note! He spoke about fixing bugs in things that matter such as the burger emoji and floating foam on beer mug emoji!

And, AI had to be on top of things. Google aims to open AI centres around the world, and utilise machine learning for revolutionising healthcare. But, it wasn't just AI, there's something for Gmail lovers, your trusted Google Assistant and Android P.


Here's what was revealed:

AI in healthcare:

Artificial Intelligence can help predict cardiovascular risk, and detect it non-invasively. Diabetic retinopathy which is the leading cause of eye cancer in India, where Google is working with eye hospitals like Shankara to deploy Machine Learning for better screening of eye and predicting early on to detect chances of cancer. The company would also conduct field trials that would help to diagnose diabetic retinopathy in developing countries.

AI for accessibility:
Machine Learning can enhance accessibility. Google beautifully used a story about a developer who used Morse code to communicate with her family since childhood, and now she has moved on to using the Google Gboard with Morse code support; which would be made available later today. Gboard does about 8 billion auto corrections every day.

Smart compose for Gmail

For all those who don't like writing emails, this will be a boon. SmartCompose is coming to Gmail soon, again a Machine Learning-based word recommendation to make writing emails easy by giving suggestion on next word of a line in contextual way. Pichai joked that thanks to this feature he has been writing a lot more emails now.

Google Photos

5 billion photos, now introducing Suggested Action on Google Photos which use AI to convert document photo to PDF, and fix exposure. You can make your child's photos cuter, make colours pop, adjust the backdrop or even change old black and white pictures into coloured.

Google Assistant
You almost cannot imagine life without the Google Assistant. It now comes in 6 new voices. All the voices you hear on Google Assistant is that of a real person who recorded thousands of words in a real studio. Starting today, you will hear none other than John Legend's voice on Google Assistant. Scott Huffman said that the Assistant was launched in India last year and has seen three times the growth.

You don't have to say 'Hey Google' anymore while making a request to Assistant. Starting in few weeks, you will be able to speek to Google Assistant in a manner of a natural conversation without having to say 'Hey' or 'Ok Google' intermittently. This feature is called Continued Conversation. The tech giant has also added 'polite reinforcements' in its conversation for giving better user experience even for children who interact with it.

Lilian Rincon, Director of Product Management, emphasised on how Google is trying to make interactions with the Assistant an immersive, interactive experience.

The Google Assistant has gone through a transformation, it can call up the salon and fix you an appointment. Beat that? The tech company likes to call this the Google Duplex, and you will be amazed to hear how the Assistant uses 'umm' and 'ah' in the conversation.

From FOMO to JOMO:
Google is one of those tech giants who cares about you and your digital wellbeing. It wants people to go from FOMO (fear of missing out) to JOMO (joy of missing out) in the following ways. It will understand your habits, help you focus on what matters, suggest people to switch off and wind down to find balance for their family.

One such feature is Android Dashboard, to slice and dice data of how you are using phone and tell people if they are over indulging on their phones. Imaging if you are binge watching YouTube for too long and it suggests to take a break.

Google is also introducing a YouTube Notification digest which combines a bunch of notification to invoke users in a more optimised way to help them have a digital wellbeing.

AI comes to Google News:
With news and fake news doing the rounds, Google is using AI to reimagine how we read news. Trystan Upstill showcased a new feature, Newscasts, a preview of news story where users can slide through a news 'card' on the phone screen to get a digest of everything that piece of news story must offer.

Google News can now place relationship between entities such as people, places, and news to stitch together a story to give complete coverage from multiple sources, fact check suggestion along with a suggestion by AI on why it is being displayed to you. All this to help you understand the full story and make information available to everyone in the same way.

Android P:
Obviously, the best was saved for the last. Dave Bruke said how Android has evolved from being available on a single device brand to being AI-driven today and being the world's leading OS for mobile. He said, Android P now has 30% reduction in CPU app wakeups. It comes with adaptive brightness, a new feature to automatically adjust screen brightness based on the ambient environment of the phone's location. New gesture navigation Android P for better control of volume, screen orientation.

The Android P beta has the 'Shush' feature which will automatically mute your phone once you put the device screen down on a table, of course, starred contacts will be able to call and reach the user at any point even if DND is turned on.

Android P also has Wind Down mode which turn the screen into a grayscale mode and deters people from spending excessive amount of time before bed. Users can also set a timer for wind down mode.

Android P Beta coming out soon for developers to try things out that was announced at IO.

Google MAPS:
220 countries and 1 billion people use this feature all over the globe. With AI, Google can automatically add addresses to maps with ML, especially for countries like Nigeria where the Google's ML has redefined the map know we knew before. Maps now lets you search for experiences, from neighbourhood dance classes to culinary experiences. Introducing VPS: Visual Positioning System for helping us with navigation beyond GPS. It's a combination of using GPS along with the camera on phone. Next time you are trying to walk with Google Maps, you can simply invoke the camera, point it at a nearby establishment and be guided with virtual signboard directing you to your destination.

Sreeraman Thiagarajan is co-founder of Agrahyah Technologies and listed at Google Developers Expert for Marketing. He tweets at @sreeraman

Google I/O Day 1 Highlights: Strike Life Balance With Android P, Maps Get AR Upgrade, AI Plays Lead Role

1/8

Even before the event kicked off, CEO Sundar Pichai assured fixing bugs in things that matter the most, like burger emoji and floating foam on beer mug emoji.

With 7000 people present at Shoreline Amphitheater for the event this year, Pichai and his team amused the audience with their newly-developed features at Mountain View, California.

Better and smoother updates in AI, Assistant, Photos, News will soon make lives easy for most people.

Missed the live event? Here's a quick round-up of what Google has in store for your in the coming few days, weeks and months.

Even before the event kicked off, CEO Sundar Pichai assured fixing bugs in things that matter the most, like burger emoji and floating foam on beer mug emoji. With 7000 people present at Shoreline A..

Read More

Clicking picture of a document? The AI will convert JPEG to PDF. Google has trained its AI to help all the photography enthusiasts enjoy great features like adding colour to black and white images, making pictures pop by adjusting backdrop, suggesting brighter options for an under-processed picture. The update will available to be Google Photo users in next few months.

(Image: Sreeraman Thiagarajan)

Clicking picture of a document? The AI will convert JPEG to PDF. Google has trained its AI to help all the photography enthusiasts enjoy great features like adding colour to black and white images, m..

Read More

Google wants to help you with digital well-being. The operating system's four new amazing features will help you plan your lives better and indulge in meaningful engagement.

Dashboard in Andoid P will give you access to a chart of apps you are engaging in and the activities within a certain app.

With the app-timer mode, your smartphone will nudge you when you are close to your limit of using one particular app, after which it will turn grey for the rest of the day to remind you of your goals.

If you enable the new do not disturb 'Shush' mode and keep your phone upside down, it will halt all notifications. However, only your suggested key contacts can reach out to you if this mode is enabled.

Snooze time will get better with 'Wind Down' feature. If your screen time before going to bed takes up more than an hour of your sleep time, this is boon in disguise. This feature will turn your screen grey, which automatically discourages your mind to engage in your phone.

If you wish to try these new updates now, 'Android P Beta' is available on Google Pixel and seven other flagship devices like Nokia, Vivo, OnePlus, Mi, Sony, Oppo, Essential.

Google wants to help you with digital well-being. The operating system's four new amazing features will help you plan your lives better and indulge in meaningful engagement. Dashboard in Andoid P wi..

Read More

Google Maps has introduced new tabs for getting your directions right. 'For You' tab helps users access new places, popular locations, personal recommendations, and trending now places in and around your neighbourhood. However, 'Your Match' tab can personalise these recommendations and pick the places (based on your activities) that are best for you. Friends can use Maps to vote real-time and plan their hangout destination, easily. Combining the camera to Maps will make finding locations easier. Open the camera, see nearby places and let the screen direct you. Also, Google adds a helpful guide (fox) for fun.

Google Maps has introduced new tabs for getting your directions right. 'For You' tab helps users access new places, popular locations, personal recommendations, and trending now places in and around ..

Read More

Love John Legend? Let him do all the talking. Later this year, his voice will come to the Google Assistant. Also, six new voices (men and women) to follow soon. All the voices you hear on Google Assistant is that of a real person who recorded thousands of words in a real studio.

(Image: Sreeraman Thiagarajan)

Love John Legend? Let him do all the talking. Later this year, his voice will come to the Google Assistant. Also, six new voices (men and women) to follow soon. All the voices you hear on Google Assi..

Read More

Google Assistant has learnt to converse naturally. Users will no longer have to wait for Assistant to respond after saying 'Hey Google'. They can place their requests and it will perform the actions. ALso, when a user asks for multiple actions, the Assistant understands it and responds with accuracy. Moreover, it also understands positive conversations like sentences with 'please'. Google has added ‘polite reinforcements’ in its conversation for giving better user experience, even for children who interact with it. The new updates will be available in coming weeks.

(Image: Sreeraman Thiagarajan)

Google Assistant has learnt to converse naturally. Users will no longer have to wait for Assistant to respond after saying 'Hey Google'. They can place their requests and it will perform the actions...

Read More

Google Lens will help you be wiser and smarter. Click on any picture and it will tell you what that is. Moreover, users can copy from physical documents and paste the text on phone. It also makes lives easy with new feature 'Style Match', which will help you show recommendations of anything your click a picture of. These updates will be available to you in the next few weeks.

Google Lens will help you be wiser and smarter. Click on any picture and it will tell you what that is. Moreover, users can copy from physical documents and paste the text on phone. It also makes liv..

Read More

Google is opening AI centres around the world. One of the use case of Machine Learning is Healthcare. Diabetic retinopathy is leading cause of eye cancer, and Google is working with eye hospitals like Shankara in India to deploy Machine Learning for better screening of eye and detect early-on chances of cancer.

(Image: Sreeraman Thiagarajan)

Google is opening AI centres around the world. One of the use case of Machine Learning is Healthcare. Diabetic retinopathy is leading cause of eye cancer, and Google is working with eye hospitals lik..

Read More

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