Google’s new Cloud Machine Learning platform opens the door for developers to take advantage of Google’s artificial neural networks. This makes it possible for the cloud to move beyond a storage medium and become a tool for analyzing large amounts to data. By removing human programming from the loop, the artificial intelligence can quickly parse a large data set and learn from what it has analyzed.
Related: Apple signs deal to power part of iCloud with Google Cloud Platform
Google’s new services will provide application programming interfaces (APIs) for automatic image identification, speech recognition, language translation, and more. The platform is powered by the company’s TensorFlow neural network software, which was released last year to the open-source community and which powers the company’s Cloud Speech API and the Cloud Translate API. Early adopters of the smart cloud platform are expected to include Home Depot, Spotify, Apple, and Disney, among others.
“This is the next transformation” in cloud-based technology, said Alphabet executive chairman Eric Schmidt during GCP Next. Schmidt compared the future development of cloud intelligence to the recent transformation of the mobile app industry, a shift that led to the formation of a number of powerhouse companies, including Snapchat and Uber, among others.
“I’m convinced there’s a new architecture emerging,” Schmidt added. “In a year, you will use machine learning to do something better than humans have been doing. You’ll do something new. You’ll discover something new.” Schmidt believes that these discoveries will transform cloud computing and fuel another round of successful IPOs for those firms that can further leverage this cutting-edge cloud technology.
