Google Research to Rebrand Itself to Focus on AI

• Google is set to revamp its research division to focus more on AI.
• Google announced big changes are incoming in its research division ahead of Google’s I/O Developers Conference.
• The tech giant wants to split its research team and have a dedicated team just for AI, with the non-AI team still in function.

All big tech companies are focusing on AI lately, and Google is no exception. To emphasize its focus on AI, Google is splitting its research team to form a dedicated group for AI research. The rebranded Google Research will include two separate teams for AI and non-AI research.

Google announced the news ahead of the Google I/O conference. The organizational reshuffle had already taken place last month, and Googler Jeff Dean has taken the lead of the AI division. Google updated its homepage for Google AI, and it will highlight research topics including health and astronomy. Open sourced tools will also be made available for use by the community worldwide including machine learning framework Tensor Flow.

Image Courtesy of Google AI

Google will continue to focus on non-AI research as well under the AI division. There are differences between Google’s venture into AI and competitor Microsoft. Microsoft revealed in its Build conference earlier this week that it has been focusing more on ethics and morality when it comes to AI. The company is set to invest $25 million for its ‘AI for accessibility’ fun to develop tech for people suffering from disabilities. While Google Research also focuses on ethics, the brand’s vision is quite different even though it is working on the same subject as Microsoft.

Google’s co-founder Sergey Brin warned of the threats posed by AI last month in a letter to the company’s investors. AI has led to problems like job destruction, biased algorithms, and misinformation. He stated that AI had been the most significant computing development in his lifetime. Google Research is trying to rebrand itself to drive that point home based on the company’s latest developments. More details will be revealed during the Google I/O conference which starts on May 8 through May 10 featuring all of Google products including Maps, AI, Android and more.