OpenAI and Google recently held their largest events of the year, with Artificial Intelligence (AI) taking centre stage for both companies. OpenAI introduced its latest flagship AI model, GPT-4o, which can process audio, visual, and text data in real-time. Concurrently, Google revealed updates to its AI models, including a new AI agent called “Project Astra” and advancements in Google Search.
Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, showcased GPT-4o at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit in San Francisco, California. Altman highlighted the model’s advanced capabilities, positioning it as a significant leap in AI technology.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Altman compared OpenAI’s presentation to Google’s, noting, “I try not to think about competitors too much, but I cannot stop thinking about the aesthetic difference between OpenAI and Google.”
Google’s CEO Sundar Pichai addressed the timing of the launches, emphasizing the long-term perspective on AI development. “My perspective, this inflexion point we are on with AI, the opportunity that I see, you want to zoom out. The fact that one event happened over a day does not matter over time. As a company, we have been investing in it over a long time. We are developing state-of-the-art models and working to deploy them to billions of people in a way where we can make a difference in their lives. And to me, that’s the North Star, that’s our mission. We stay focused on that,” Pichai explained.
Both events underscore the ongoing race in AI innovation, with OpenAI and Google striving to lead in a rapidly evolving technological landscape.