The competition in the AI technology industry is heating up as Google has finally launched a competitor to ChatGPT. The chatbot AI named “Bard” is currently being tested for a few users before being made available to a wider global market.
“You can use Bard to increase productivity, accelerate various ideas, and answer curiosities about anything,” said a Google spokesperson quoted on Wednesday (22/3/2023).
In general, Bard functions just like ChatGPT, but with the difference of providing several alternative answers, instead of just one, for the user to choose from.
Additionally, Bard also provides a “Google it” button that allows users to switch to a more user-friendly search on the Search engine.
A Google spokesperson emphasized that Bard will not be embedded directly into the search engine. Users can access it via the Bard website and register in advance to gain early access.
Google says the launch of Bard will be gradual. Moreover, Bard will eventually be able to identify various languages.
Bard uses a language model based on LaMDA, just like GPT-4 on ChatGPT. When opening the page, users will be given a warning that says “Bard will not always get it right.”
For the initial version, Bard can only respond with text. There is no visual and audio capability like the latest version of ChatGPT. However, Google promises that similar capabilities will soon be available.
Bard is being seriously developed by all Google employees. CEO Sundar Pichai asked employees to allocate 2-4 hours of work time to train its interactions.
To ensure accountability, Google also invites early users to provide feedback on Bard’s performance before it is officially released to everyone.
Furthermore, the competition in AI technology has been heating up lately as two giant technology companies, Microsoft and Google, are developing their own AI.
Recently, Microsoft announced its latest plan to put artificial intelligence in the hands of more users. The company is currently previewing a new AI “copilot” for Microsoft 365.
“AI will offer drafts in this application, speeding up content creation and shortening work time,” Microsoft said, as quoted by Reuters on Friday (17/3).
The Redmond, Washington-based company also showcased a new “business chat” experience that can pull data and perform tasks across applications on the user’s written command. Microsoft says AI can unlock the computational magic of its Excel spreadsheet software to anyone who can explain the calculations they want in plain text.
Microsoft’s new business chat experience can also answer questions like “tell my team how we can update our product strategy,” by taking clues from emails, meetings, and morning chat threads.
