Google caps I/O 2024 with an employee-only day and Gemini hackathon

Abstract

• Google I/O occasion this 12 months featured an extended itinerary, ending with an employee-only day for a hackathon and Demo Slam.
• The hackathon allowed workers to experiment with Gemini and develop hypothetical merchandise, selling innovation inside Google.
• Undertaking Astra stole the present at Google I/O, showcasing the evolution of the multimodal AI product along with Gemini.

There was an honest quantity of hype surrounding Google’s I/O occasion this month, given how low-key the corporate has performed its I/O occasions in recent times. The pandemic prompted Google to punt the occasion again in 2020, and it had a restricted viewers when it returned the next 12 months. Google I/O was a one-day affair in 2022 and 2023, so when the longer itinerary for this 12 months’s occasion grew to become identified, anticipation grew. Now, particulars have emerged on how this 12 months’s Google I/O concluded – and solely workers can report again with first-hand accounts.

In line with 9to5Google, Google ended its I/O occasion this 12 months with an employee-only day that includes a Gemini hackathon and “Demo Slam.” The unique day was held on the Shoreline Amphitheatre and hosted by CEO Sundar Pichai, who made positive to publish a number of pictures on social media. Android engineering vice chairman Dave Burke was additionally readily available to demo Undertaking Astra – the corporate’s multimodal AI assistant – and its current developments.

The aim behind Google’s hackathon

The hackathon was introduced through the occasion and got here as a shock to the staff. They have been instructed to work in groups and experiment with Gemini to develop hypothetical merchandise. In the long run, a financial prize was introduced, and executives will ultimately decide the winner at a company-wide assembly. Pichai is aiming to maintain Google workers centered on “alternatives like AI” whereas selling continued innovation.

For workers and attendees alike, nevertheless, it was Undertaking Astra that stole the present. Google has remained hush on the evolution of the multimodal AI product, which now works higher than ever along with Gemini. In actual fact, it was Astra that helped Gemini interpret the world round it at Google I/O, per demonstrations. Among the data that Gemini has issue understanding in real-time appeared to be smoothed out with Astra, giving extra promise to Google’s AI initiative. Though the know-how remains to be in its infancy, Google I/O confirmed simply how shortly corporations are working to make it a viable answer for on a regular basis duties, no matter complexity.