Google is one of the great giants of the internet’s new age, one of the few companies to survive the tumultuous 2000s that knocked so many tech and web companies off of the radar. Their transformation and growth on the way to where they are now has been nothing short of incredible to watch. They’ve gone from a humble garage company mastering web search, to a search giant, then to a search giant with extra services, then to the all-encompassing juggernaut of the mobile world, then to an innovative and daydreamy tech fantasy space, and finally, to the ruling giant of the web, flirting with danger in the form of moonshots while making huge money off of their normal services and pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in tech. Their newfound focus on machine learning and AI is just one bit of proof of their new attitude, and according to CEO Sundar Pichai, the metamorphosis is not only set to continue, it’s well underway.
The company’s massive experiments in moonshots like the self-driving car project and Project Loon are working their way into the mainstream. Google’s efforts just about everywhere are expanding, and they’re pushing to the forefront of tech to lead the way in how humans and computers interact. The recent push for augmented reality with Tango, as well as Google’s ongoing obsession with AI have a lot more to do with each other than meets the eye; same with Daydream VR and Assistant, two new projects that Google is springing off of Android, and using to encroach on the fundamentals of human-device interaction. In a way, these are a perfect microcosm of Google’s process; they make something competitive in a field, and bounce off of its success to make something new and amazing. That’s exactly what the company is in the middle of doing right now.
Google’s transformation is mainly on new grounds. They’re pushing into delivery by drone. They’re pushing into AI, AR, and VR. They’re even pushing into the concept of IoT taken to its logical extreme in the form of smart cities. They’re pushing boundaries in just about every way imaginable, and it’s a beautiful thing to watch. The biggest factor, as far as making money, has always been search, but with that falling by the wayside, it’s looking like Assistant and other AI products will become Google’s breadwinners. With Assistant set to hit phones in the fall and bring the Amazon Echo competitor Google Home with them, opportunities to not only monetize, but to further engage in Google’s typical behavior are everywhere. They will be rolling out a brand new tool to a record number of consumers in more ways than ever, and that tool just happens to be an AI-based search assistant that can learn its users’ habits, desires, demographics, and group trends. Not only is this information that Google can sell, this is information that Google can use to up their ad game to entirely new levels. This would never have been possible on the scale that it’s going to happen without Google’s foray into mobile in the form of Android, then Google Now.
The transformation will, of course, continue from there. As technology adapts and allows experimentation with new forms of interaction, new activities, and new digital fronts, you can bet your bottom dollar that Google will be there to put themselves at the forefront of the new wave, like they’ve always been. Whether they’ve been the originator, the one to do it best, or simply the one to market it the best, Google’s failures have been few and far between, and that pattern will likely continue well into Google’s new era.
Source : www.androidheadlines.com
