Google's Grand A.I. Merge

Is Google DeepMind going to save Alphabet from the Generative A.I. Apocalypse of Search?

Photo by Lauren Edvalson on Unsplash

Welcome Back!

In the news: Alphabet is merging Google Brain, part of the research division, and DeepMind as the company races to compete in artificial intelligence.

To end the week I wanted to again discuss Google’s approach to Generative A.I. consolidating its corporate focus on A.I. based products. As Meta and Google double down on utilizing Generative A.I. to re-mix Ads, the practices of our BigTech monopolies at scale are beginning to come to the surface. We always knew/suspected this was likely the case.

In Surveillance Capitalism, whether you are Apple or Google, you are likely using nefarious practices to stay ahead that amount to anti-competitive practices at scale. At a time when we are debating regulating A.I. and implementing a Bill of Rights, how is that going to be effective without regulating our Monopolies that only stand to get bigger in this environment? Their four cash cows:

• Digital Advertising

• Cloud computing

• Generative A.I. as a General Purpose Technology (GPT) layer

• Walled Garden Services

In June, 2022 Meta reorganized their Meta AI organization, and now it appears to be the turn of Alphabet.

Acquired in 2014, DeepMind has been a significant cash burn for Alphabet doing some of the best R&D in A.I. for the last decade. As an exodus accelerated from Google Brain, it began to lose its shine and now is being effectively merged with DeepMind, while DeepMind is being steered to more applied A.I. products and innovation.

Even to this day, DeepMind is only “profitable” since other parts of Alphabet like Waymo use their technology. So this great Merge is strategic and a cost-saving exercise for Alphabet. But what else might it be?

I dig into this as BigTech settles on centralizating its power over this new paradigm that may even be a General Purpose Technology, according to some early analysts and public relations points of view.