Benj Edwards: In Paris Demo, Google Scrambles to Counter ChatGPT but Ends Up Embarrassing Itself

On Wednesday, Google held a highly anticipated press conference from Paris that did not deliver the decisive move against ChatGPT and the Microsoft-OpenAI partnership that many pundits expected. Instead, Google ran through a collection of previously announced technologies in a low-key presentation that included losing a demonstration phone.

I watched Google's event earlier this week and felt like I'd stepped into a fever dream. It was absolutely abysmal, with the low point being when a presenter said something like "and now let's do a live demo" only to hear someone tell them on a hot mic that they don't know where the phone is.

The Google Maps segment was fantastic, but even as a fan of Google, this was the biggest thud of an event I've seen in ages.