Google Bard’s first costly error shows AI chatbots aren’t yet ready for prime time
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It wasn’t a great week for Google. Not only did the company’s bug-ridden “Live from Paris” event fall short of expectations, the much-anticipated new AI chatbot tool, Bard, made a factual error in a demo video (opens in new tab) that was meant to show off the software’s impressive capabilities.
The blunder – that drove Google’s market value down by $100 billion (opens in new tab) — saw Bard misrepresenting a user who asked, “What new discoveries from the James Webb Space Telescope can I tell my 9-year-old about?” In the clip, the chatbot responds with a series of bullet points, including one that reads, “JWST has taken the first-ever pictures of a planet outside our own solar system.”
However, NASA claims that the first image of such a planet, called an exoplanet, was captured in 2004 by the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope. In other words, Bard had the wrong question, which made him worry about the future integration of the software into Google. Search query.
Bard is an experimental conversational AI service powered by LaMDA. Built using our large language models and based on information from the internet, it is a starting point for curiosity and can help simplify complex topics → https://t.co/fSp531xKy3 pic.twitter.com/JecHXVmt8lFebruary 6, 2023
Essentially, Bard is Google’s answer to Microsoft-backed ChatGPT – an “experimental conversational AI service” that promises to be able to answer complex questions in an informal style. The software is powered by LaMDA (short for Language Model for Dialogue Applications), which, like ChatGPT, allows Bard to understand human language as it is written.
But while Microsoft seems to be going full steam ahead with its redesigned, AI-powered Bing search engine, Google isn’t so hasty with fully integrating Bard into Google Search – and rightly so.
In response to Bard’s very public gaffe, Google issued the following statement CNN (opens in new tab): “This [error] emphasizes the importance of a rigorous testing process, something we are kicking off this week with our Trusted Tester program. We will combine external feedback with our own internal testing to ensure that Bard’s answers meet a high bar for quality, safety, and validity in real-world information.
So it’s clear that Google is downplaying the real-world viability of AI-powered search engines for now. The company still describes Bard as an “experimental” service, and the disclaimer below the program’s search box (see below) suggests it “may provide inaccurate or inappropriate information,” as in the case of the aforementioned James Webb Space Telescope . ask.
Analysis: Is Microsoft Jumping the Gun?
Microsoft, on the other hand, is putting Google to the test by releasing its AI-powered Bing to the masses. Here’s how to use the new Bing search engine powered by ChatGPT, if you’re interested, when the program may not be ready for use in the real world just yet.
But Google has more to lose than Microsoft in this AI battle. On average, Google plays nearly 90% of global searches, while Bing accounts for just under 10%. Microsoft clearly hopes that the rapid integration of ChatGPT into Bing will increase that market share before Google has a chance to respond with the full rollout of its own Bard program.
However, Google is clearly hesitant to pull the trigger on Bard if the integrity of the software isn’t watertight – an error-prone Bard would undermine the integrity of Google Search as a whole.
We’ll be reporting on the latest developments in the ongoing battle between Google and Microsoft in the coming weeks, so keep an eye on TechRadar for more.