Too charitable indeed. Google was simply unprepared and has inferior alternatives. My prediction is that next year they will catch up a bit and will not be shy

Too charitable indeed. Google was simply unprepared and has inferior alternatives. My prediction is that next year they will catch up a bit and will not be shy about releasing new technology. They will remain behind in LLMs but at least will more deeply envelope their own existing products, thus creating a narrative of improved innovation and profit potential. They will publicly acknowledge perceived risks and say they have teams ensuring it will be okay.