MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — This year's Google I/O 2024 keynote with its relentless focus on AI proved the power of being some place in person. While I'm sure that people who watched the live stream — and followed the Tom's Guide live blog — got plenty out of the many different announcements Google made about its Gemini AI model. But being on site at the Shoreline Amphitheater afforded you the chance to see Gemini's multitude of skills up close, to really get a sense of what Google's driving toward with these tools.
I should know. Right after the keynote wrapped, I spent Tuesday afternoon running from demo to demo, illustrating a different part of Google's AI story. In many cases, these were repeats of what Google showed off on-stage, only with the benefit of me standing a few feet away instead of seated a dozen rows back from the stage. And in some cases, Google showed off other capabilities that were only hinted at in its keynote.
