I/O 18 Conference Highlights for the General Public

Google I/O is an annual conference for web developers held by Google. I/O stands for "Innovation in the Open". The focus of discussion is developing web applications using Google and open web technologies. Usually at the conference, Google will release some of its latest software and hardware products or technologies, and share with developers the technology trends for the coming year.

Google's I/O is almost a weather vane for product and technology trends of global Internet companies, and every I/O will have exciting product innovations.

Of course, due to the current information environment, it is difficult to use Google's related products smoothly in China. However, most products can be compared with similar products in China, and through a simple comparison, we can show you Google's product technology innovation this year.

Google News was a news website launched by Google earlier. It has recently undergone a major innovation and will launch a mobile reading application. We don’t know whether it was inspired to develop this application after observing the huge success of Toutiao in China.

Important features of Google News released at this I/O:

「Newscasts」

It uses natural language technology to recommend articles and videos on a certain topic to users, aggregates different news sources, and helps you find the most comprehensive information on a topic, which is equivalent to customizing the user's own news topic in the app.

"For You"

We will use machine learning technology to better understand user behavior and accurately recommend 5 news items that may be of interest to users each time.

Toutiao benchmarking function:

Collaborative filtering

Among a large number of users, a small number of users with similar tastes to the user are discovered. In collaborative filtering, these users become neighbors, and then they are organized into a sorted catalog based on other things they like as recommendations to the user.

Positive and negative feedback

User clicks, long-term reading, sharing, collections, and comments are all positive feedback. User disinterest is defined as negative feedback.

Gmail has always been Google's flagship product, with the number of active users exceeding 1 billion as early as 2016. A number of other extended products and features have been developed around email. Some important updates released at this year's I/O also set off several small climaxes in the audience.

Gmail's key features released at this I/O:

「Smart Compose」

You can write emails more intelligently. By using machine learning, you can recommend words and short sentences that users may use in real time when they are typing email content.All you have to do is keep clicking the confirm button.

Domestic mailbox benchmarking function

Unfortunately, we have not found a feature similar to "Smart Compose" in domestic email products. The smartest feature currently available in domestic email products is QQ mailbox provided"Intelligently identify foreign emails and translate them into Chinese with one click": and realize free switching between original text and translated text, currently supports translation of multiple foreign languages.

Important features of Google Photo released at this I/O:

"Time Filter"

Using AI to segment the photos that need to be repaired can not only repair overexposed or underexposed photos, but also restore the color of old black and white photos.

Domestic benchmark products

Beauty filters have long been known as one of the "Top Ten Witches in Asia". Domestic camera manufacturers have devoted themselves to the research of image recognition for several years and have invested a lot of effort in making girls look whiter, more beautiful and more fairy-like. Finally, they have developed several "filters that even moms don't recognize".

Google Assistant was first announced at I/O in 2016 and got a major update this year.

The event demonstrated that users can make restaurant reservations through Google Assistant: Google Assistant will directly call the restaurant and then use human voice to talk to the restaurant staff to confirm. The natural tone and accurate wording also set off another small climax in the audience.

Important features of Google Assistant released at this I/O:

"Very real voice"

The new version of the voice uses DeepMind's Wavenet technology and can provide 6 very natural human voices.

"Event handling"

Just like the functions of ordering food, reserving tables, and navigating mentioned in the live demonstration, Google Assistant can now handle more and more complex user needs, and combined with Google's huge technology ecosystem, such as maps and mailboxes, Google Assistant can handle a variety of complex needs across platforms.

Microsoft XiaoIce benchmarking functions:

"Advanced Senses"

Last year, the Microsoft XiaoIce team proposed that XiaoIce should demonstrate advanced sensory qualities when communicating with users, such as being able to communicate with users in a more natural and anthropomorphic manner.

"Creation and creation"

XiaoIce has published poems in various poetry forums and publications under multiple pseudonyms, and published the first AI-generated poetry collection, "The Sun Lost the Glass Window." Microsoft has also officially launched a poetry co-creation product, allowing anyone to use XiaoIce to complete their own poetry creation.

The above are the highlights of the first day of Google I/O 2018, which are more about the updated applications of Google products based on AI. Google alone has made all the flagship products of China's BAT and TMD. Of course, it is still difficult to directly experience Google's achievements within the Great Firewall. We can only hope that domestic products will have the opportunity to bring us similar or even better product experiences.