The PaLM API alone is big news, as it is currently one of the absolute most advanced LLMs but was always kept to private and specific tests until now. PaLM is, (obviously) the basis that MedPaLM uses, and while MedPaLM is currently not quite as accurate in diagnosis as actual doctors, it’s rate of harmful misdiagnosis is actually better than human doctors in the tests so far. That’s quite the accomplishment in a mission-critical test.
I will say though that this constant ‘one-upmanship’ between Microsoft and Google right now is almost laughable, and all for the sake of attempting to impress shareholders really.
Yes. I think we both knew that Google wasn’t about to let Microsoft hog the attention and awareness with AI - especially when pretty much everyone who knows the field know that DeepMind is literally years ahead of OpenAI, both in terms of the models already built and in use, and in terms of their years of experience. Not to mention that even if the two were starting from the same position right now, I’d personally bet on Google’s processing power over Microsoft’s.
I mean, Microsoft is a company built entirely on the foundation of stealing DOS, then building other software that many have always claimed was partially stolen (Office), and various version of Windows (alternating between versions that worked and versions that absolutely sucked). They are also somewhat famous for their own attempt at an AI chatbot - the one that they let live on Twitter and within 30 minutes it had been reduced to a misogynistic anti-Semite, spewing Nazi propaganda for all to see. They really hadn’t prepared at all for how people would taunt and tease it into mis-trained antics.
Then compare that to Google. Google pretty much entirely invented the Cloud, thanks to their early pioneering work with Cluster Networking (which is remarkably closely related to Neural Networking). Their entire system is a custom-built OS all of their own, but they also created the Chrome OS and Android, etc. They are undisputed masters of collecting and using vast amounts of data, have dozens of AI systems that have been actively in use in Google in daily use, etc.
As for DeepMind, well, DeepMind is years ahead of all the rivals we know, not just in any one AI model, but in scores of them. I’ve known very few companies that I admire quite as much. To say they had their pick of the best minds in the field is an understatement, and their yearly salary costs alone are over $1Billion I believe. Last I heard, their average salary in the research and engineering positions was over $400k per person!
They really hadn’t prepared at all for how people would taunt and tease it into mis-trained antics.