Generative AI's iPhone Moment

After nearly seven months of rumors and delays, Google has finally released its most advanced generative-AI model to date: Gemini 1.0, a program the company is advertising as one of the most capable pieces of software ever. It can purportedly solve calculus problems, explain memes, write code, and--in a real example offered by the company--provide feedback on cooking photos to help you decide when your omelet is done. Google is even billing Gemini as "a first step toward a truly universal AI model," one that is designed from the ground up to engage with images, video, text, audio, and computer code in a range of contexts. And, somehow, it all feels a bit underwhelming. Perhaps that is because today's announcement feels like any other Silicon Valley product launch.