Google accidentally posted a preview of its upcoming AI tool, Jarvis AI, to the Chrome Extension Store, but quickly removed it (via The information).
This comes just a few weeks after initial news in October that Google is working on a ‘useful’ web partner. Apparently some people installed the extension before it was removed but were unable to use it. The software required certain access rights that users could not ignore.
Jarvis is an AI agent that surfs the web for you. It aims to perform tasks that are easy to automate, allowing you to focus on more complex computing tasks. The information reports that the agent will be ready and released in December 2024. Project Jarvis is the current code name which may be changed at a later date.
An advanced version of Gemini AI will power this tool. Jarvis would perform tasks such as “including gathering research, purchasing a product or booking a flight.” It should help people “automate everyday, web-based tasks.”
All the news about Project Jarvis is giving us major déjà vu, as we’ve seen so many times the same capabilities being touted, just by a different company for a new or emerging AI agent. Anthropic’s new AI model, Claude AIdoes exactly the same thing: controls your computer for you. Students are taught to use computers by taking screenshots and sending them back to the model to analyze the contents of the screen.
Apple Intelligence promises to do the same with its ‘onscreen awareness’ feature. It will observe your activity and enter that into its system to intelligently perform those tasks for you on another occasion.
Microsoft’s Copilot+ recall is another recent example. This very curious feature, which made people extremely uncomfortable, is an AI-powered screenshot taking machine. To learn more about you and help you ‘help better’, these screenshots are saved, including all your passwords. This way, the next time you need help, you can call up an AI model on your Recall-supported machine, and it will search your screenshots to help you with your query. Due to the controversial concept and a harsh response from the community, Microsoft has postponed the Recall release although. It said it would be released “later,” initially exclusively to Windows Insider program members.