Google unveiled the next generation of its Pathways Language Model (PaLM 2) on May 10, 2023, at Google I/O 2023. Its new large language model (LLM) boasts a lot of improvement over its predecessor (PaLM) and might finally be ready to take on its biggest rival, OpenAI’s GPT-4.
But just how much improvement has Google made? Is PaLM 2 the difference maker Google hopes it will be, and more importantly, with so many similar capabilities, how is PaLM 2 different from OpenAI’s GPT-4?
PaLM 2 vs. GPT-4: Performance Overview
PaLM 2 is packed with new and improved capabilities over its predecessor. One of the unique advantages PaLM 2 has over GPT-4 is that it’s available in smaller sizes specific to certain applications that do not have as much onboard processing power.
All these different sizes have their own smaller models called Gecko, Otter, Bison, and Unicorn, with Gecko being the smallest, followed by Otter, Bison, and finally, Unicorn, the largest model.