Howdy👋🏾. Before we dive in, I’m thrilled to announce the launch of the Thoughts on Tech & Things monthly speaker series in partnership with Southern University of New Orleans’s Small Business Incubator program. Designed to teach small business owners and individuals how to use AI, these sessions will cover a range of AI-related topics, kicking off on August 29th at 5:30 PM CT/6:30 PM ET with an introduction to the fundamentals of AI. Future sessions will explore AI in marketing and sales, chatbot development, and more. Please register for the first session here, and for more information on upcoming sessions, please visit my site.

On Tuesday, Google held its annual release event for its products, Made by Google 2024. While the event introduced a new Pixel device line-up, AI eclipsed the Pixel and took center stage with a ton of new AI features, many coming to all supported Android phones.

One standout is Gemini Live, a subscription-based AI chatbot meant to replace Google Assistant with a $20 monthly price. It offers ten conversational voices that mimic human emotions and speech patterns. Rick Osterloh, head of Google’s platforms, discussed these features in an exclusive interview with Joanna Stern with WSJ. It is definitely worth a watch and read. Unlike OpenAI’s advanced voice mode, which is still rolling out, Gemini is available now.

Of course, Google did not stop there – additional features included new AI apps named Pixel Screenshots and Pixel Studio. The screenshots app pulls in screenshots typically stored in photos or a camera app, allowing you to easily search or do actions based on them. I don’t know about you, but I have a lot of screenshots, 60% of them by accident, that I often forget. Pixel Studio takes Google’s Imagen 3 AI model and opens it up for text-to-image abilities.

The company also continues to round out its camera with great features like Add Me – which allows you to augment or create a group picture without everyone being there at the same time.

---

All in all, it is a good release, now my thoughts on tech & things:

🔍 Exploring Yelp’s Response to Google’s Monopoly Status – Yelp’s CEO Jeremy Stoppelman highlights the challenge of vertical search engines like Yelp in Google’s dominated space, stressing the importance of niche focus versus broad search. Can specialized platforms survive in the era of AI-driven answer engines? Read more

🚀 Stranded in Space: The Boeing Dilemma – Are astronauts stuck in a modern-day “Gilligan’s Island” scenario in space? With Boeing’s spacecraft failures, speculation grows whether SpaceX will intervene. Follow this ongoing space saga. Explore the situation

🔋 Will Battery Tech Ease Range Anxiety? – Advancements in battery technology promise to extend EV ranges dramatically, potentially erasing range anxiety for future models. Imagine driving hundreds of miles without a recharge—this could be our new reality. Discover more

⚡️ Guess What? EV Charging Still Sucks – Despite progress, charging infrastructure woes continue to plague EV users, particularly in less accessible regions. Is the slow pace of improvement a strategic oversight or mere growing pains? Learn why charging is challenging

🔧 Is CrowdStrike’s Mishap A Blow for Test-Driven Development Enthusiasts? – A recent flaw in CrowdStrike’s software raises questions about the reliability of Test Driven Development (TDD). When tests miss real-world scenarios, can we still trust them to ensure software quality? Read the incident analysis

---

I get excited this time of the year because it starts the countdown for Apple’s new phones, usually sometime in September. There is no doubt that Google AI focused set the crosshairs on both OpenAI and Apple.

For example, Google mentioned that they will not use third-party AI services keeping you with one you can trust.

“Gemini can handle these kinds of complex personal queries within Google’s own secure cloud without sending any of your personal data to a third-party AI provider who you may not know or trust.”

It’s obviously a push to make a point of distinction from Apple, which plans to build a limited AI service and look at other providers to fill in the gaps – but the jury is out on this being a con versus a pro. In its current iteration, Gemini Live is almost all cloud-based, limiting its on-device abilities like setting an alarm or launching an app. Still, the company has been clear that this is temporary and rich and deep integration is coming.

Like Apple, Google has a huge ecosystem with products like Gmail, Google Photos, YouTube, and more – and they’ve made it known that they plan to leverage this ecosystem to provide enhanced services for the individual and help people get to work with tools like Google Workspace.

I think this is said best in this quote from the event:

“We’re re-imagining the entire OS layer, putting Gemini right at the core of Android, the world’s most popular OS. You can see how we’re innovating with AI at every layer of the tech stack: from the infrastructure and the foundation models to the OS and devices, and the apps and services you use every day. It’s a complete end-to-end experience that only Google can deliver. “

This is a reminder that Apple is not the only ecosystem, and even if you’re an iPhone user, you likely have more than just a toe deep in the Google ecosystem.

Few things as I close out. I have a chance to speak at SXSW 2025 on ‘The Rise of the Chief AI Officer: Navigating the C-Suite Revolution,’ but I need your vote! Here’s how to vote 🗳️! Voting ends on Sunday, August 18.

Also, don’t forget about the Thoughts on Tech & Things speaker series, here are the next sessions:

📆 Introduction and Fundamentals of AI on August 29, 2024
Learn the basics of AI, including its history, different types of AI, and practical applications for small businesses. Register Here

📆 AI for Marketing and Sales on September 19, 2024
Discover how AI can revolutionize your marketing strategies and sales processes by providing deeper insights and enhancing customer engagement. Register Here

I would love to have you there. If you know someone who would benefit from any of the sessions, please forward them this newsletter or send them a link to the above sessions. Also, if you have ideas for future sessions in the Speaker Series or want to get involved, email me at contact@jasonmperry.com.

-jason

p.s. Speaking of photos, it’s almost a given in today’s world that we’re constantly on camera. A developer highlighted this reality with a public website that lets you tap into traffic camera feeds to take a selfie! It’s a cool and fun concept, but it’s also a reminder of how challenging it is to stay anonymous wherever you go.