Google is working on artificial intelligence software that resembles human reasoning, similar to OpenAI’s o1, marking a new front in the rivalry between the tech giant and the fast-growing startup.
In recent months, multiple teams at Alphabet Inc.’s Google. was making progress on AI thinking software, according to people familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the information is private. Such software programs are more adept at solving multi-step problems in areas such as mathematics and computer programming.
Artificial intelligence researchers are looking for models of thinking as they search for the next significant step forward in technology. Like OpenAI, Google is trying to approximate human thinking using a technique known as thought chain stimulation, according to the two people. In this technique, pioneered by Google, the software pauses for a few seconds before answering a written query while, behind the scenes and invisible to the user, it considers a number of related queries and then summarizes what appears to be the best answer.
Google declined to comment on the effort.
Google and OpenAI have been waging an intense battle for dominance in artificial intelligence, particularly since the release of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, a popular chatbot that some investors worry will eventually eliminate the need for Google search. Google has taken various steps to regain its leadership position, including merging its top research labs to form the Google DeepMind unit and strengthening relationships between researchers and product teams. Still, the search giant continues to move more slowly when it comes to releasing artificial intelligence products, pausing to consider ethical concerns, the need to meet public expectations of trust in its brand, and the competing interests of multiple similar efforts within the vast organization.
Since OpenAI unveiled its o1 model, known internally as Strawberry, in mid-September, some at DeepMind have worried that the company has fallen behind, according to another person familiar with the matter. But employees are no longer as concerned as they were following the launch of ChatGPT, now that Google has unveiled some of its work, the person said.
Despite the slower pace of adoption of Google products, Google remains a significant player, said Oren Etzioni, a veteran AI researcher who founded TrueMedia.org, a nonprofit organization dedicated to combating political disinformation.
“Technically, it’s always been the case that Google’s capabilities have been superior. They were just more conservative in bringing things out,” Etzioni said. “This is a marathon and it’s anyone’s race to win.”
In July, Google unveiled AlphaProof, which specializes in mathematical reasoning, and AlphaGeometry 2, an updated version of the geometry-focused model the company unveiled earlier this year. The programs were able to solve four of six problems presented at the International Mathematical Olympiad, an annual competition in which students tackle topics such as algebra and geometry, Google said in a blog post.
At its developer conference in May, Google offered a glimpse of an AI assistant, Astra, that can use a phone’s camera to see the world around it and answer questions, such as telling a user where they left their glasses. Google said some Assistant features could come to its AI flagship, Gemini, later this year.
“Advanced mathematical reasoning is a critical capability for modern artificial intelligence,” Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis wrote in a post on social network X in July.
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