Google CEO Sundar Pichai speaks with Emily Chang during the APEC CEO Summit at Moscone West on November 16, 2023 in San Francisco, California. The APEC summit is being held in San Francisco and will continue until November 17.
Justin Sullivan | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai is a challenge Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella in an AI duel.
Well, sort of.
“I would love to do a side-by-side comparison of Microsoft’s own models and our models any day, any day,” Pichai said, speaking Wednesday at the New York Times Dealbook Summit with Interviewer Andrew Ross Sorkin.
Pichai’s comments came after Sorkin read aloud comments from an interview Nadella did earlier this year, in which the Microsoft CEO questioned Google’s place in the technology arms race. AI following incidents of the search giant’s AI products earlier this year.
“Google should have been the winner by default in the big tech AI race,” Nadella said in March on the Norges Bank Investment Management website. podcast. “Google is a very capable company and they obviously have both the talent and the computing resources. They are the vertically integrated player in this space. They have everything from data to silicon to models to products to distribution.”
“You were the originals in AI,” Sorkin told Pichai after reading Nadella’s comments. He asked Pichai: “Where do you think you are in the journey compared to these other players?
“They’re using someone else’s models,” Pichai added after saying he would love to do the side-by-side comparison.
“You’re throwing down the gauntlet,” Sorkin responded.
Laughing, Pichai shook his head and added, “I just – I have a lot of respect for them and the team.”
Large language models are a type of artificial intelligence capable of analyzing and generating human language, driven by a large amount of data. Although Microsoft has its own AI models, most of the advanced features in its recent offerings are powered by OpenAI’s LLMs.
The market for chatbots and related AI tools has exploded since OpenAI introduced ChatGPT in late 2022, giving consumers a new way to search for information online outside of traditional search. Shortly after, Microsoft announced a partnership with OpenAI to integrate ChatGPT into the Bing search engine.
Google has used its own LLMs for years to power its artificial intelligence and search products. Google’s latest LLM is its Gemini series, which powers its conversational AI that rivals OpenAI’s GPT models. The company announced more advanced Gemini products in May.
The latest comments come as tech companies compete in the AI arms race, particularly between Microsoft and Google.
In October, Microsoft took the unusual step of publicly accusing longtime rival Google of running “ghost campaigns” in Europe, saying the efforts were aimed at discrediting the search giant with regulators.
Microsoft did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Pichai’s comments.
WATCH: Google subpoenas AI rivals after DOJ forces Chrome spinoff
