Summary

  • Google I/O event this year featured a longer itinerary, ending with an employee-only day for a hackathon and Demo Slam.
  • The hackathon allowed employees to experiment with Gemini and develop hypothetical products, promoting innovation within Google.
  • Project Astra stole the show at Google I/O, showcasing the evolution of the multimodal AI product in conjunction with Gemini.



There was a decent amount of hype surrounding Google’s I/O event this month, given how low-key the company has played its I/O events in recent years. The pandemic prompted Google to punt the event back in 2020, and it had a limited audience when it returned the following year. Google I/O was a one-day affair in 2022 and 2023, so when the longer itinerary for this year’s event became known, anticipation grew. Now, details have emerged on how this year’s Google I/O concluded – and only employees can report back with first-hand accounts.

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According to 9to5Google, Google ended its I/O event this year with an employee-only day featuring a Gemini hackathon and “Demo Slam.” The exclusive day was held at the Shoreline Amphitheatre and hosted by CEO Sundar Pichai, who made sure to post several photos on social media. Android engineering vice president Dave Burke was also on hand to demo Project Astra – the company’s multimodal AI assistant – and its recent developments.


The goal behind Google’s hackathon

The hackathon was announced during the event and came as a surprise to the employees. They were instructed to work in teams and experiment with Gemini to develop hypothetical products. In the end, a monetary prize was announced, and executives will eventually determine the winner at a company-wide meeting. Pichai is aiming to keep Google employees focused on “opportunities like AI” while promoting continued innovation.



For employees and attendees alike, however, it was Project Astra that stole the show. Google has remained hush on the evolution of the multimodal AI product, which now works better than ever in conjunction with Gemini. In fact, it was Astra that helped Gemini interpret the world around it at Google I/O, per demonstrations. Some of the information that Gemini has difficulty understanding in real-time seemed to be smoothed out with Astra, giving more promise to Google’s AI initiative. Although the technology is still in its infancy, Google I/O showed just how quickly companies are working to make it a viable solution for everyday tasks, regardless of complexity.