Last month, Google released Chrome 113 with support for WebGPU. The main benefit of WebGPU is that it enables high-performance 3D graphics to be displayed effortlessly in the browser. With the proliferation of generative AI, Google wants to leverage WebGPU to take some of the pressure off data centres and make browsers do some of the work.
According to CNET, Google is planning a demonstration at its annual Google I/O conference that will show Stability AI’s Stable Diffusion software turning a text prompt into an image, using WebGPU to do the processing.
Being able to process AI tasks with WebGPU brings a few benefits to users. It allows you to avoid any network problems that may occur and it can give you greater control over your data. Earlier this month, Samsung banned its employees from using generative AI chatbots following a security leak. By running AI tasks locally, businesses like Samsung could use AI tools with greater security and privacy.
The report states that Google is planning to announce a partnership with Mozilla’s Firefox, Apple’s Safari, and Microsoft’s Edge on something called Baseline. Baseline will outline the features that web developers will know work across the involved browsers. This should improve the compatibility of websites and web apps across platforms. Baseline 2024 could arrive by the end of this year and then be continuously updated as needed.
Source: CNET