A note to all - Lloyd

Is it your app? Are you only using Gemini AI or other AI technologies? I think it needed multimodel prompting and other advanced-level AI concepts. For me, it is impossible to do it in 2 months.

It is completely my app. I realize in hindsight that there were indeed other similar projects in the works at the same time, but I didn’t know about them. Honestly would have made my life a lot easier if I did know about them.

It did require multimode prompting, not sure what ā€œadvanced-level AI conceptsā€ you are referring to. The Google Gemini Official Documentation luckily had most of what I needed. If it helps, I’m also an undergraduate researcher working in Computer Vision, LLMs, VLMs, and Robotics at UCLA and have other researcher experience, so it’s not like I didn’t have prior knowledge coming into this.

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@Lloyd_Hightower
Dear Mr. Lloyd Hightower,

I am writing to express my concern regarding the selection of the ā€œmost impactful appā€ in the Gemini API competition. While I acknowledge the winning app’s utility, it appears to be a Straightforward Wrapper around Gemini AI’s core functionality.
This raises the question of whether its impact truly justifies the recognition, as the same results could often be achieved by Directly using Gemini AI itself.

In contrast, I encountered apps like :
Terra Prize , Greenloop, and Hero Chums during the competition. Each of these apps demonstrated immense potential to drive meaningful impact with minor modifications:

Unfortunately, these promising initiatives are now at risk of Fading into obscurity without the encouragement or support they might have received as winners. Kindly think about this issue…

I kindly urge you to reflect on this issue and consider ways to ensure that high-potential apps like these receive recognition or continued support, even if they do not win outright.

I have no issue bro, if you are a researcher and already have the knowledge to do this. It is good. I am not into AI much. I am a mobile application programmer but I am learning AI and did a few courses. I only know that it is a kind of complex. When I finished university, I was also very passionate, and a passionate person can do it. If you do it and win, it is now time to celebrate :slightly_smiling_face: I knew that you would be one winner.

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@Rosa_20 Regarding your comment on my comment:) + and a message of hope to all participants who feel not OK. you said I gave credit, not really: I just wanted to thank Lloyd because during the competition I was sometimes on the forum and he did his best. I just gave a simple thank you regardless of the effort made. I have no idea how they judged. But I am wholeheartedly with everyone here who felt marginalized, I read the messages here. I didn’t follow this competition closely, as I haven’t been on this forum since Septembe, but I read many messages yesterday and today. So yes I am aware :slight_smile: and I am not really very nice (as you described me :slight_smile: )

  • Now I will give my feedback on the competition and how I experienced it. Really, I haven’t been eagerly awaiting the results, since sinc seeptember I left the forums and thought the results would be announced at the end of December 2024 BUT: life sometimes has more imagination than we do:
    I also made an extraordinary app (great Impact: it is Gloabl Impact…), and the video is also extraordinary. I am not among the winners (surprisingly :slight_smile: I will explain why i say this ), but I don’t think they selected the winners based on the video (because my video is a story in itself…). If they really based their choice on the video, then they tested my app, I would have been chosen first…the choice of the judges is really strange I see…

  • After Google published our apps on the Google Developers site, I think around September 20th, I noticed an explosion of views on my YouTube video. I was a bit surprised (as there were just, I think, 320 or a bit more since the publication of my app on August 12th). I have no subscribers, I am not a youtuber :slight_smile: and now I have 400 subscribers :slight_smile: After maybe a week of this phenomenon, I was contacted by people (a big company) from Singapore (working on sustainability: focus on both sustainability and information technology, and they are big name… and even won an international award 2 years ago…), seeing ma video on youtube and google, looking for my name on social networks, etc. They contacted me via LinkedIn, proposing a collaboration for this project, and since then the views on my video have also exploded… And until today, I have fun things about this project (…). I never imagined what happened, just to tell you that life sometimes has more imagination than we do…
    I participated to solve a big problem of food security (my app: CassavaPulse: CassavaPulse  |  Gemini API Developer Competition  |  Google AI for Developers, even Bill Gates, who has dedicated his life to solving the world’s big problems, is involved in a project about cassava, see his works here, many aticles: The world’s most interesting vegetable | Bill Gates (the big unresolved problem today is that it is a staple food for millions of people, not only one continent but across contients: Africa, Asia and Latin Amercia…, but it faces many many challenges and the diseases that affect it are grandiose…not like any other vegetable…, and my app is a suite of tools (5 modules, when I published my app), now will have more advanced features… So cassava is a whole story,
    ===> and life rewarded me with recognition beyond what I imagined (beyond Google awards…). I didn’t want to talk about it, but I felt your resentment and the resentment of other participants: All of us have experienced something similar, so I understand you perfectly. But keep shining, things may not go as you expected. You can make a great effort, it may be that your app is the best, I don’t know, and no one tested it… yes, it happens, I know, but don’t let that discourage you, your turn will come…

  • FUN THING: my video now I think has the most views in everything #buildwithgemini (Should be a pride for Google (I am not a star :slight_smile: , I ma not youtuber, just with an app built with Google Gemini and many other goolge advanced tehnologies: deeplearning models etc ) + I got noticed by a big company, in such a way that a week ago Google[Youtube] activated ads on my video to generate revenue (for them), even though I am not eligible for monetization myself. YouTube notified me to inform me about the eligibility thresholds that will be achieved, one is laready achieved :)… Really, the day I read that, I laughed. :slight_smile: )

With all my love and empathy, I end with: life has more imagination than we do…. Don’t forget that, keep going, don’t be discouraged by anyone or any thing., no matter how embarrassing it is :rocket: :rocket: :rocket:

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Your project’s idea, vision, execution and video presentation where excellent :trophy:

Somebody flagged your post. However, I thought that it is better to answer you. Do you know what judge means and what justice means? It is not like everything should be written or there must be a rule. I think, judges are also developers and they can understand how much time can be spent. Judging criteria rules are already not followed and blame was put that there are too many submissions. Whatever, I accepted the results because most of the winning apps I voted for. I raised a few points and it is my right to raise it.

I did Gemini Flow! Happy to know it wasn’t completely lost in the shuffle!

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On its own I would have thought Jayu was a contender, but as a unique concept? The implementation? That does seem up for debate.

My take is that we can debate, that is interesting, the judgement won’t change. The only exception would be if a podium project would not use Gemini in a central manner. That would be a no-no. But I guess they looked at that.

As an expert in the field, I shared my perspective on this topic. A simple search reveals that numerous people have attempted similar ideas, only to abandon them because they proved impractical. Moreover, it’s clear why many other projects focus on background communication with apps. This approach is neither unique, useful, nor particularly creative. For instance, you can view the demo of Open Interface on their GitHub page, which has been publicly available for about seven months—well before the Gemini competition even began.

Additionally, there are numerous posts and articles discussing a similar idea—using LLMs to control computer—that surfaced shortly after the release of GPT-4 in November 2023, when it first introduced the ability to analyze images. It quickly became apparent to many that this concept is not practical. Furthermore, you can find posts from major industry players indicating that big tech companies are already working on enabling system-level access for LLMs to facilitate AI-driven computer control.

That said, this is their competition, and they have the right to make their own decisions and select whichever submissions they prefer. I’m fine with that. However, it’s misleading to claim that this innovation was born solely out of Gemini’s competition.

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One thing you should know is that prizes are given from investors point of view. They are not because they are highly innovative solutions that will change the world etc, like the criteria described. Maybe Google will invest in them or Google has investors that can invest in them. This happens to startups also. I started working with startups since 2012. I am a freelancer and I worked with dozens of startups. This also happens with startups because investors have their own thinking. Therefore, you do not need to worry. If you think, your product is good, release it. I still do not understand how they selected an AR app. I think they do not have a choice. There is a similar app where you just put an animated character and it tells you about that thing. I think, there is a Google CodeLab available. You just copy that Google codeLab and use Gemini pro to analyze the image. Very simple.

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Yeah, your submission is unique, we have similar ideas in the way we use graph interface to interact with gemini :hugs:

It’s great to read the diverse viewpoints and emotions being shared in this forum : from joy and acceptance to frustration and some anger ! I realise we all come from different backgrounds and are in different stages of our life journey. From students to hard-core IT professionals in mid-career and IT professionals in retirement, of which I am one.
I took part in this competition out of curiosity to see what reaction I would get to a web app that I had built earlier and enhanced recently with Firebase Gemini Extension.
(Call me old fashion but I have always felt that building web pages is a skill that all students should master like Word, PPT and Excel… but the tools available to the average student are either too technical or unaffordable. I set out to build a tool based on an idea that had been churning in my head for years - what if we looked at a web page as a hierarchy of boxes and make it easy for the user to manipulate the boxes ? So during the Covid lockdown I did build a prototype on Firebase : pure html/cas/javascript - yes terribly old fashion but it is accessible from any browser and any device ! And the feedback I got from my pilot groups of students aged 10-12 and adults was fantastic and that spurred me on !
So when Firebase announced its Gemini Extension, I thought I could make web page building even easier. Instead of struggling with what to write, ask a question and you get a response from Gemini and within minutes you can have a web page nicely laid out.
My vision is that every student should be a web page curator by age 15 as this would provide a strong foundation for a digital future.
I am based in Malaysia and have been conducting free online classes to promote the concept and encourage usage of Peti-Peti.com
To be honest, after looking at the sophistication of the winning entries, it confirmed my inner suspicion that my little web app is not in the same league. But at least I haven’t got any brickbats (yet !) and my students love it, and teaching it gives me a lot of joy, so I continue quietly on my journey…! )
To the winners and all participants, may you all have a great future ahead of you and fun and joy taking your apps to the next level !
All the best !
LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/edward-chin-1b605b2
URL:https://peti-peti.com

Edward Chin

P.S A big thank you to Lloyd and the team who had to put up with all kinds of challenges !!
PPS Oh yes, a belated thanks to @WasimSafdar for voting Peti-Peti one of his favourite submissions earlier on.

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All i have to say is there is 100% a narrative being ran with the results. It is statistically impossible to have those results unless your looking for it not to mention there is at least dozens of submissions that are far more complex apps. They can do what they want i don’t really care but am just pointing out the obvious that it’s not actually an app competition or even about the quality of the video it’s about publicity. Fit the narrative and you win a category.

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Yeah, and complexity != Good. Neither is technical proficiency. Neither is how much time one sunk into something.

Simple idea’s that were executed well and/or presented well won, it’s not shocking. Though I am personally disappointed for myself, but you can’t win if you don’t try. I learned some lessons for next time, and think I’ll be able to have an even better chance when it comes around again. (Gemini Flow here)

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For sure! I really like yours as well! The look/functionality is great.

Now I’m finding low/no code building block-like solutions like mine being monetized as fully featured products, so… I guess maybe I wasn’t as outside the box as I thought. Then again, it’s nearly impossible to come up with a truly novel take.

But something that enhances how you use the LLM seemed obvious to me :person_shrugging:t2:, most AI ā€œappsā€ are just wrappers around what the chat can already do, so I didn’t take that approach. Had considered the PC controlling idea too, but took a chance on what I thought I’d be more likely to actually use.

Oh well, there’s always next time! Maybe I’ll see you there!

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It was clearly stated that submissions should not be copies of existing solutions. I believe anyone could create a similar video to the Best Overall App using existing solutions developed by others—without writing even a single line of code. So, could you please clarify what execution means in this context? Does it simply refer to creating a polished video for an existing and, frankly, overused concept?

Is this what qualifies as a ā€œbrilliant ideaā€? Seriously, is this the standard for innovation now? Perhaps this competition is redefining concepts like innovation, originality, and remarkability in ways that are difficult to understand.

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Oh, I totally agree. Likable college kid referencing Jarvis was the simply the best optic imho.

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The Best Overall App was the least innovative among the notable submissions! What more could you expect from this competition? Are you looking for the definition of a web app? Do you really think they cared about it? The main criteria were completely overlooked.

Overall, it was a total waste of time.