Google has taken a significant step forward in the realm of generative AI, announcing the integration of Chirp 3, its high-definition voice interface, into the Vertex AI development platform. This move marks a significant expansion of Google's AI capabilities, particularly in the area of voice-based interfaces.

The news comes on the heels of Google's quiet announcement last week that Chirp 3 would be rolling out 8 new voices for 31 languages. The platform is designed to enable developers to build voice assistants, create audiobooks, develop support agents, and produce voice-overs for videos. The announcement was made at an event held at Google's DeepMind offices in London.

Google's efforts in voice AI are not happening in isolation. Other companies, such as Sesame, are also making significant strides in this area. Sesame, the startup behind the viral "Maya" and "Miles" AI apps, recently launched its model for developers to build customized apps and services on top of its technology. Meanwhile, ElevenLabs has raised hundreds of millions in funding to expand its work in AI voice services.

Notably, Google is implementing usage restrictions around Chirp 3 to prevent misuse. According to Thomas Kurian, CEO of Google Cloud, the company is working with its safety team to address these concerns. This move is likely a response to growing concerns about the potential risks and implications of advanced AI technologies.

The integration of Chirp 3 into Vertex AI brings it into the same stable as newer versions of Google's flagship language model, Gemini, as well as its image-generation model Imagen and its video generation tool, Veo 2. While it remains to be seen whether Chirp 3 will be as realistic as some other AI efforts, such as Sesame's work, Google's move is a significant step forward in the development of voice-based AI interfaces.

Demis Hassabis, CEO of DeepMind, emphasized that the development of advanced AI technologies is a marathon, not a sprint. He cautioned against expecting a silver bullet solution to emerge in the near term, instead predicting that significant changes will occur over the next decade. This perspective highlights the complexity and long-term nature of AI research and development.

Google launched Vertex AI in 2021 as a platform for developers to build machine learning services in the cloud. Since then, the company has been leaning into Vertex AI as it plays catch-up to other companies like Microsoft and Amazon, which are building generative AI tooling for developers. The addition of Chirp 3 to Vertex AI is likely to further expand Google's capabilities in this area.

It will be interesting to see whether Google moves to expand its walled garden to models beyond those created by the company itself. As the AI landscape continues to evolve, Google's decision to open up its Vertex AI platform to a wider range of developers and models could have significant implications for the industry as a whole.

Google's history with voice services dates back to its early efforts to compete against Amazon's Alexa service. The company's decision to integrate Chirp 3 into Vertex AI marks a significant milestone in its ongoing development of voice-based AI interfaces.