Generative artificial intelligence continues to be all the buzz in the tech world, and as the summer conference season kicks into high gear, announcements surrounding the technology are sure to follow.

Still, at events such as Cisco Live this past week, AI wasn’t necessarily front and center, according to theCUBE industry analyst Dave Vellante.

“It definitely wasn’t the lead. It was there. Basically, I think their strategy was sound. It’s like, ‘OK, we’re going to infuse AI into everything,’ which I think people have been saying for years,” Vellante recounted on the latest episode of theCUBE podcast. “They don’t seem to have radically changed their strategy as a result of OpenAI.”

Google LLC, on the other hand, has taken a different approach, according to Vellante.

“They’ve said, we’ve got to do something here with this. But the reality is, they were probably already ahead, in many respects,” he said. “That’s kind of an interesting dynamic. Now you see all this money flooding into the zone.”

The crucial race in AI

Google and Amazon.com Inc. definitely have been ahead when it comes to AI and machine learning, according to theCUBE industry analyst John Furrier, even though ChatGPT may have caused the mainstream computer user to the table.

“All the insiders, we know, have been doing AI for a long time. Google’s one of them. Google has so much AI. It’s ridiculous how good they are. Now, the question is, can they hold on to their engineers?” Furrier asked. “Or will they flee to join a hot startup? Can they get out of their own way to create good products?”

Many of those questions could be answered at Google Cloud Next in San Francisco in August. Google also recently made some announcements in the AI space, including releasing its Secure AI Framework to help companies protect AI models from hacking.

“Google’s got a treasure trove of stuff. I’m telling you right now, Google is its own enemy right now. They have so much potential,” Furrier said. “Amazon Web Services Inc., rightly so, has got stronger management relative to competing and executing than Google does.”

AWS had SageMaker and AI under the covers internally and quickly moved into generative AI, according to Furrier.

“They have Bedrock, which is their product, and they have advantages. People right now are afraid of their intellectual property leaking. They’re afraid of their data,” Furrier said. “Data will be the IP of the future.”

With AWS, Google Cloud and Azure with OpenAI, there will be a push to make environments secure, programmable and agile, Furrier added.

“That’s going to be the key. It’s going to be a war,” he said.

Binance facing increasing scrutiny

This week, Binance Holdings Ltd. informed users that it will lose the ability to withdraw its dollar funds from its platform on Tuesday amid a lawsuit from the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission. Meanwhile, the SEC sued Coinbase Global Inc., alleging the cryptocurrency exchange operates as an unregistered securities exchange and broker.

Binance and Coinbase, over the past week, have been lumped together as both being the same in news reports, according to Vellante, something he said he doesn’t agree with.

“I think [Coinbase CEO] Brian Armstrong has always been pretty forthcoming about, ‘Hey, we want your guidance on being regulated and lay down some guidelines,’” Vellante said.

In response to that view, SEC Chair Gary Gensler has said guidelines already exist and has suggested Coinbase should be regulated by the SEC just like any other security.

“For obvious reasons, Coinbase is saying, ‘Well, we’re not, though. We’re not a security. We’re this exchange,’” Vellante said. “Gensler is saying, ‘Yeah you are. All I have to find is one example of a crypto that really is a security, and I’m going after you.’ And there probably are. They probably pushed the envelope a little too hard. But Coinbase is, I think, a good company.”

Coinbase is legitimate, and the government should work with them — they’re a legitimate entrepreneurial venture, according to Furrier.

“Do the audit, do what you’ve got to do. Binance, they’re international. That’s a black box. I wouldn’t even go in there,” he said. “But Coinbase, they’re in the Bay Area. They employ a lot of people. They’re doing the right thing. The government is the one that’s screwing them over. That’s my rant on crypto.”

Watch the full theCUBE Podcast below to find out why these industry pros were also mentioned:

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla

Dr. Rachel Cohen, Ph.D.

Marc Andreessen, general partner of Andreessen Horowitz

Ty Law, Pro Football Hall of Fame

Logan Mankins, football guard

Richard Seymour, former football player with the New England Patriots

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI

Matt Garman, SVP of sales and marketing at AWS.

George Gilbert, principal at TechAlpha Partners

Jerry Chen, general partner at Greylock Partners

Zeus Kerravala, founder and principal analyst at ZK Research

Jim Farley, CEO of Ford Motor Co.

David Floyer, CTO and co-founder of Wikibon

Joseph Jacks, COSS startup founder and investor

Changpeng Zhao, co-founder and CEO of Binance

Gary Gensler, Securities and Exchange Commission chair

Brian Armstrong, co-founder and CEO of Coinbase

Jim Cramer, investment pro and TV personality

Michael Novogratz, founder and CEO of Galaxy Digital

Cathie Wood, founder and CEO of ARK Investment Management

Bob Muglia, entrepreneur and builder

Jeff Maggioncalda, CEO of Coursera

Larry Ellison, chairman of the board and CTO at Oracle

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Photo: SiliconANGLE