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When Jennifer Daniel, Google’s creative director for emoji, first joined the Unicode Technical Committee, she wondered, what’s the deal with the handshake emoji? Why isn’t there skin tone support? “There was a desire to make it happen, and it was possible to make it happen, but the group appeared to be stuck on how to make it happen,” Jennifer says. So in 2019, she submitted the paperwork for Unicode to consider the addition of the multi-skin toned handshake.The proposal detailed how to create 25 possible combinations of different skin tones shaking hands. But encoding it all would be time-consuming; creating a new emoji can take up to two years, Jennifer explains. And while a regular, one-tone handshake emoji already existed, this particular addition would require making two new emoji hands (a right hand in all the various skin tone shades and a left in the various skin tone shades) in order to, as Jennifer explains, “make the ‘old’ handshake new again.”  Every Un...

Like any savvy entrepreneur, Marisa Moore first launched a website to promote her brand and attract more business. “It was back in 2008,” recalls Marisa, an Atlanta-based registered dietitian and nutritionist. “I was making regular appearances on CNN and different media outlets. And I wanted a way for people to be able to easily find me. So, I put up marisamoore.com and started sharing nutrition tips.” Since then, Marisa’s website has grown to become a key ingredient in her recipe for success — leading to more consulting work, media appearances and most recently, a cookbook-writing opportunity. She uses her blog to “to share (mostly) vegetarian recipes, credible nutrition information and a peek into my Southern roots and travels!” Popular posts promote Marisa’s brand of healthy and delicious nutrition, such as recipes for Mediterranean chickpea pasta salad and peanut butter banana breakfast cookies .  Marisa’s blog serves up healthy veggie recipes with a Southern f...

When it comes to computer science, we still have a lot of work to do to address gaps in education. That’s evident in our latest report with Gallup, Current Perspectives and Continuing Challenges in Computer Science Education in US K-12 Schools . This report is our most recent in a multiple-year series of Diversity in K12 CS education reports with Gallup in an effort to share new research with advocates, administrators, nonprofit partners and the tech industry to continue addressing gaps in computer science education.  While the 2020 Gallup reports shed light on many gaps related to race, gender and community size, we wanted to increase awareness of the gender gap, specifically, since the gender gap for girls and young women is still as stark as it was when we first released the report back in 2015 . Seventy-three percent of boys told researchers they were confident about learning computer science, compared with 60% of girls. (You can see more details in the full report .) Be...

Last week we celebrated Earth Day — the second one that’s taken place during the pandemic. It’s becoming clear that these two challenges aren’t mutually exclusive. We know, for example, that climate change impacts the same determinants of health that worsen the effects of COVID-19. And, as reports have noted , we can’t afford to relax when it comes to the uneven progress we’re making toward a greener future.  At Google, we’re taking stock of where we’ve been and how we can continue building a more sustainable future . We’ve been deeply committed to sustainability ever since our founding two decades ago: we were the first major company to become carbon neutral and the first to match our electricity use with 100 percent renewable energy.  While we lead with our own actions, we can only fully realize the potential of a green and sustainable world through strong partnerships with businesses, governments, and nonprofits. At Google.org, we’re particularly excited about the po...

As many companies integrate return to the office plans with existing work-from-home strategies, a key component is building a device management and security strategy centered on remote access. In this era of hybrid work,  mobility is the critical link for workers who need the ability to connect to company resources from anywhere.  A recent Forrester report highlights why IT administrators should use on-device security and enterprise management features to build a powerful and adaptive security strategy, noting how remote access is now paramount for business continuity. Organizations can enable the multilayered protections and management features in Android Enterprise to help their teams thrive in this hybrid world, giving teams powerful built-in security without layers of complexity. Security built in as a foundation In its research, Forrester found that 78% of IT admins surveyed are planning to increase their use of on-device security in the next year. When it comes to...

For Lauren Sparandara, stepping onto a construction site transports her to the scrappy dollhouses of her childhood. "I would scavenge styrofoam from the household trash and use it to build these elaborate cityscapes for my dolls," she laughs. "I see a similar opportunity when I look at buildings that are about to be demolished: What could we make with those?" At Google, Lauren looks for ways to reuse materials in Google's design and construction process — like salvaging perfectly good doors and hardware, cabinets, furniture, and lockers from existing buildings to reuse them in Google’s spaces or donate to local organizations in need.  I sat down with Lauren to talk about what she envisions for future Google construction projects, and how it relates to the circular economy . First things first: What is deconstruction? Typically, heavy machinery demolishes existing structures on a construction site, which means usable materials are often sent to the lan...

Welcome to the latest installment of our series, “My Path to Google.” These are real stories from Googlers, interns, and alumni highlighting how they got to Google, what their roles are like and even some tips on how to prepare for interviews. Today’s post is all about Xiomara Contreras (seen above with her mother), a product marketing manager in our San Francisco office. Xiomara’s passion for social impact is deeply rooted in her work, both in her core role of supporting small businesses and in building community for underrepresented groups both in and out of Google. How would you describe your role at Google? I’m a product marketing manager working on Google My Business . Specifically, my team is dedicated to supporting small-business owners. Google My Business is a free tool that allows users to promote their Business Profile on Google Search and Maps, allowing them to respond to reviews, post photos of products or special offers and add or edit their business details s...

The web is home to a lot of great things. But it is also a place where bad actors can try to take advantage of you or access your personal information. That's why we're always working to keep you safe while you search, and also to give you the tools to take control of your Search experience.   Here are five ways we're making Google the safer way to search:  1. Fighting spam 10:25 The last thing you want to worry about when you’re looking for cake recipes or researching a work project is landing on a malicious website where your identity might get stolen. It’s our job to help protect you from that, and it’s one we take very seriously.  In 2020, we detected 40 billion pages of spam every day — including sites that have been hacked or deceptively created to steal your personal information — and blocked them from appearing in your results. Beyond traditional webspam, we’ve expanded our effort to protect you against other types of ab...

Last year, we launched a reimagined Google Pay to be a safe, simple and helpful way to pay and manage your finances. The app is full of ways to pay friends and businesses, save with offers and rewards and stay on top of your money. Today, we are announcing three ways to help you save money on groceries, pay for transit fares in more cities and better understand your spending. Save at the grocery store Small expenses add up, but finding ways to save on everyday items like groceries is one way to keep your budget in check. However, it can be a cumbersome task. Taking the time to look through coupons, finding the right offer, remembering to bring them with you or tracking down that promo code you saw online (where was it again?) can be tedious.  We teamed up with Safeway to make it easy to find weekly grocery deals from the Google Pay app. You can find deals on thousands of items across more than 500 Safeway stores nationwide. You can also discover similar deals at Target store...

When I was in federal prison, I witnessed firsthand how incarceration affects people's lives — even long after they're released. After my own release in 2015, I created The Ladies of Hope Ministries (The LOHM) , which helps previously incarcerated women transition back into society through education, entrepreneurship, spiritual empowerment and advocacy.  In the U.S., more than 600,000 people make the transition from prisons to the community each year. While many are ready to start working, they often face systemic barriers to entering the workforce. The unemployment rate for people impacted by incarceration is five times the national average . Because of systemic racism in the justice system, this disproportionately impacts the Black community , who also experiences higher unemployment rates than any other racial group. Additionally, 82% of middle-skill jobs in the U.S. require digital proficiency, but many incarcerated individuals lack digital literacy after being remove...

Throughout history, from photography to video to hypertext, artists have pushed the expressive limits of new technologies, and artificial intelligence is no exception. At I/O 2019, Google Research and Google Arts & Culture launched the Artists + Machine Intelligence Grants , providing a range of support and technical mentorship to six artists from around the globe following an open call for proposals. The inaugural grant program sought to expand the field of artists working with Machine Learning (ML) and, through supporting pioneering artists, creatively push at the boundaries of generative ML and natural language processing.  Today, we are publishing the outcomes of the grants. The projects draw from many disciplines, including rap and hip hop, screenwriting, early cinema, phonetics, Spanish language poetry, and Indian pre-modern sound. What they all have in common is an ability to challenge our assumptions about AI’s creative potential. Learn more about the Hip...

When my wife and I were flying home from a trip to France a few years ago, our seatmate had just spent a few months exploring the French countryside and staying in small inns. When he learned that I worked on Google Translate, he got excited. He told me Translate’s conversation mode helped him chat with his hosts about family, politics, culture and more. Thanks to Translate, he said, he connected more deeply with people around him while in France. The passenger I met isn't alone. Google Translate on Android hit one billion installs from the Google Play Store this March, and each one represents a story of people being able to better connect with one another. By understanding 109 languages (and counting!), Translate enables conversation and communication between millions of people which otherwise would have been impossible. And Translate itself has gone through countless changes on the path to one billion installs. Here’s how it has evolved so far. One of the earliest v...

Globally, skin conditions affect about 2 billion people . Diagnosing and treating these skin conditions is a complex process that involves specialized training. Due to a shortage of dermatologists and long wait times to see one, most patients first seek care from non-specialists . Typically, a clinician examines the affected areas and the patient's medical history before arriving at a list of potential diagnoses, sometimes known as a “differential diagnosis”. They then use this information to decide on the next step such as a test, observation or treatment.  To see if artificial intelligence (AI) could improve the process, we conducted a randomized retrospective study that was published today in JAMA Network Open . The study examined if a research tool we developed could help non-specialists clinicians — such as primary care physicians and nurse practitioners — more accurately interpret skin conditions. The tool uses Google’s deep learning system (that you can learn more about...

In a natural disaster or emergency, every second counts. For example, when it comes to earthquakes, studies show that more than 50% of injuries can be prevented if users receive an early warning, and have the critical seconds needed to get to safety. That's why last year, we launched the Android Earthquake Alerts System, which uses sensors in Android smartphones to detect earthquakes around the world. The free system provides near-instant information to Google Search about local seismic events when you search “Earthquake near me.” Today we’re announcing an expansion of the Android Earthquake Alerts System that uses both the detection and alerts capabilities, bringing these alerts to Android users in countries that don’t have early warning alert systems. We’re introducing the Android Earthquake Alerts System in Greece and New Zealand, where Android users will receive automatic early warning alerts when there is an earthquake in their area. Users who do not wish to receive thes...

To get things done with the Google Assistant, it needs to understand you – it has to both recognize the words you’re saying, and also know what you mean. It should adapt to your way of talking, not require you to say exactly the right words in the right order. Understanding spoken language is difficult because it’s so contextual, and varies so much from person to person. And names can bring up other language hiccups — for instance, some names that are spelled the same are pronounced differently. It’s this kind of complexity that makes perfectly understanding the way we speak so difficult. This is something we’re working on with Assistant, and we have a few new improvements to share. Teach Google to recognize unique names  Names matter, and it’s frustrating when you’re trying to send a text or make a call and Google Assistant mispronounces or simply doesn’t recognize a contact. We want Assistant to accurately recognize and pronounce people’s names as often as possible, especia...