Google is reportedly working on a new AI agent that can take over your computer, but it isn’t as bad as it sounds. This AI agent, codenamed Project Jarvis (in an apparent reference to the JARVIS voice assistant from the Iron Man movies), is said to be trained specifically to take over a person’s web browser in order to complete tasks like gathering research, purchasing products, or booking flights.
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According to a report by The Information, Project Jarvis will be a consumer-facing feature that will operate in Google Chrome and automate day-to-day web-based tasks. The report states that Google is planning to preview the AI agent as early as December, along with its next flagship Gemini AI model, known as Gemini 2.0. After the preview, Jarvis could be released to early testers and may be part of Google’s marketing campaign showcasing the prowess of its latest Gemini model.
How will ‘Jarvis’ AI work?
Reportedly, Jarvis will work by taking “frequent screenshots” of the user’s screen and interpreting those images to perform actions like clicking a button or typing into a text field. However, Jarvis is said to operate “relatively slowly,” as it needs a few seconds to think before taking any action.
While Jarvis does seem like the kind of futuristic tech we have been waiting for, the latest report raises more questions than it answers. For instance, we don’t yet know if Jarvis will operate on-device or if it will run in the cloud (a major privacy concern). Moreover, it isn’t clear if Jarvis will work only with Google Chrome on the web or also with the Google Chrome application on mobile.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai has previously shown his admiration for AI Agents in an interaction earlier this year, stating, “I think about [agents] as intelligent systems that show reasoning, planning, and memory. Are able to think multiple steps ahead, work across software and systems, all to get something done on your behalf, and, most importantly, under your supervision.”