THE SCOOP
Google is laying off hundreds of people working on its voice-activated
Google Assistant software and eliminating a similar number of roles on its knowledge and information product teams, a Google spokesperson confirmed
to Semafor on Wednesday.
Google told Semafor the restructuring would help improve Google Assistant
as it explores integrating newer artificial intelligence technology into
its products. The company announced in October that it was using its generative AI chatbot Bard to build a new version of Google Assistant that “extends beyond voice, understands and adapts to you and handles personal tasks in new ways.”
Google has been making periodic job cuts over the past year, including in
its recruiting and news divisions, but it has not conducted company-wide layoffs since last January, when it eliminated approximately 12,000 roles. Its parent Alphabet reported having over 180,000 employees as of September 2023.
Title iconKNOW MORE
Google Assistant debuted in 2016 to compete with Amazon’s Alexa and
Apple’s Siri, and together, the three voice assistants defined the first
wave of mainstream question-and-answer products powered by artificial intelligence.
Over the past year, large language models — the tech behind OpenAI’s
ChatGPT and similar tools — have transformed the market, and tech giants
are now figuring out the best ways to integrate them into existing product lines.
Title iconNOTABLE
Google is also planning to restructure its 30,000-person advertising sales department, prompting anxiety about job cuts, The Information reported.
The new Bard-idified Google Assistant has yet to be released, but
9to5Google has an overview of several new features reportedly coming to Android phones.
https://www.semafor.com/article/01/10/2024/google-lays-off-hundreds- working-on-its-voice-activated-assistant
On 11/01/2024 11:30, axe cometh wrote:
THE SCOOP
Google is laying off hundreds of people working on its voice-activated
Google Assistant software and eliminating a similar number of roles on
its
knowledge and information product teams, a Google spokesperson confirmed
to Semafor on Wednesday.
Google told Semafor the restructuring would help improve Google Assistant
as it explores integrating newer artificial intelligence technology into
its products. The company announced in October that it was using its
generative AI chatbot Bard to build a new version of Google Assistant
that
“extends beyond voice, understands and adapts to you and handles personal
tasks in new ways.”
Google has been making periodic job cuts over the past year, including in
its recruiting and news divisions, but it has not conducted company-wide
layoffs since last January, when it eliminated approximately 12,000
roles.
Its parent Alphabet reported having over 180,000 employees as of
September
2023.
Title iconKNOW MORE
Google Assistant debuted in 2016 to compete with Amazon’s Alexa and
Apple’s Siri, and together, the three voice assistants defined the first
wave of mainstream question-and-answer products powered by artificial
intelligence.
Over the past year, large language models — the tech behind OpenAI’s
ChatGPT and similar tools — have transformed the market, and tech giants
are now figuring out the best ways to integrate them into existing
product
lines.
Title iconNOTABLE
Google is also planning to restructure its 30,000-person advertising
sales
department, prompting anxiety about job cuts, The Information reported.
The new Bard-idified Google Assistant has yet to be released, but
9to5Google has an overview of several new features reportedly coming to
Android phones.
https://www.semafor.com/article/01/10/2024/google-lays-off-hundreds-
working-on-its-voice-activated-assistant
So no room now for human intervention.
None but the Ai to screen their mistakes.
This is a significant moment.
Personalized to also mean depersonalized.
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