Google live Gemini demo lifts pressure on Apple as AI hits smartphones [Video]

During Google’s Pixel phone launch on Tuesday, a product director named David Citron took the stage to show off the mobile capabilities of the company’s new AI assistant, Gemini. Things got awkward right after the presenter told the audience, “all the demos today are live, by the way.”

In front of a big crowd of media and analysts at Google’s Silicon Valley headquarters and about 100,000 viewers on YouTube, Citron took a photo of a concert poster and asked the assistant to check his calendar to see if he’s free the night pop star Sabrina Carpenter is playing in San Francisco.

The demo failed, freezing up and displaying an error message. Citron tried again, with the same result. After a quick verbal appeal to the “demo gods,” and a phone swap, the third try worked.

“Sure, I found that Sabrina Carpenter is coming to San Francisco on November 9, 2024,” the assistant wrote in a message …