Deepmind and Google Brain Merge
Google dials in to compete against OpenAI. Find out how combining the resources of the DeepMind and Brain teams, Google is poised to make strides in AI R&D.
Created on April 21|Last edited on April 25
Comment
Google has recently announced a major reorganization in its artificial intelligence divisions, merging DeepMind and the Brain team from Google Research into a single, unified entity called Google DeepMind. This move aims to accelerate progress in AI, as well as to develop AI systems that are more capable and responsible.
By combining the talent and resources of DeepMind and the Brain team, the new unit is poised to make significant strides in AI research and development.
Origin Story
The story of Google's AI journey began with the acquisition of DeepMind Technologies in 2014, a London-based AI research company co-founded by Demis Hassabis, Shane Legg, and Mustafa Suleyman [1]. DeepMind has since made groundbreaking advancements in AI, such as creating AlphaGo, the first computer program to defeat a world champion Go player.
Meanwhile, Google Research's Brain team, established in 2011, has been at the forefront of AI research, creating TensorFlow, a popular open-source machine learning framework.
Google Brain and DeepMind have had distinct focuses since their inception. Google Brain has primarily focused on applied AI research for integration into Google's products, while DeepMind has emphasized fundamental AI research. Google Brain has worked closely with other Google teams, while DeepMind has traditionally functioned more independently. DeepMind has had a stronger presence in the academic community, often partnering with universities and research institutions, whereas Google Brain has had a more product-centric approach.
New Management Structure
DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis stated that the merger of Google DeepMind and Google Brain will streamline decision-making and foster greater speed and collaboration, ultimately maximizing the impact of their AI research.
Eli Collins, a seasoned AI leader, will join Hassabis' executive team as VP of Product, while renowned AI researcher Zoubin Ghahramani will join the research leadership team, reporting to Koray Kavukcuoglu. To ensure the research progress and direction align with the organization's objectives, a new Scientific Board for Google DeepMind will be established, led by Koray and featuring representatives from across the organization.
Competition
As the AI race intensifies among tech giants, it will be interesting to see how the pace of AI development evolves in response to the growing sense of urgency. This heightened competition is likely to drive rapid innovation and lead to breakthroughs that can significantly impact our daily lives; however, as companies race against each other, the risks of safety and ethical concerns of AI will also increase.
It will be intriguing to see how organizations navigate this delicate balance while pushing the boundaries of AI capabilities in the pursuit of technological supremacy.
Sources
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_DeepMind
Add a comment
Tags: ML News
Iterate on AI agents and models faster. Try Weights & Biases today.