Google Assistant is going to get a lot more conversational with LaMDA

Ask questions and have a free-flowing conversation with Google.

What you need to know

• Google Assistant will now have LaMDA.
• LaMDA will allow you to have more nuanced conversations and ask more questions.
• Conversations will be free-flowing.

Google Assistant is going to get a lot more conversational with Google's breakthrough development called "LaMDA."

During Google I/O, the company announced how, LaMDA, which follows BERT, will help users have more natural conversations with the assistant.

"We've invented machine learning techniques that help us better grasp the intent of Search queries," Google said in a blog post.

"LaMDA - short for "Language Model for Dialogue Applications" - can engage in a free-flowing way about a seemingly endless number of topics, an ability we think could unlock more natural ways of interacting with technology and entirely new categories of helpful applications.

Google says LaMDA has been trained on dialogue and that during its training, "it picked up on several of the nuances that distinguish open-ended conversation from other forms of language."

During the company's presentation, LaMDA was showcased acting like Pluto and a Paper Airplane. Both conversations showcased the AI bot having a strong understanding of both topics when asked questions. For example, Pluto was asked, "Tell me what I would see if I visited," to which Pluto responded, "You would get to see a massive canyon, some frozen icebergs, geysers, and some craters."