The popularity of ChatGPT, which recently reached 100 million monthly users, has forced Google to step on the gas when it comes to artificial intelligence. As a result, we have Bard, the company’s new conversational chatbot.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai made the official announcement in a post on the company’s official blog. In addition, Pichai described it as an “experimental conversational AI service”. Bard will be able to respond to user requests and will also be able to participate in conversations. For the time being, Bard will be open only to a group of “trusted testers” before being “available for public use in the coming weeks.”
It is not yet clear exactly what functions Bard will have, but all indications are that it will be very similar to ChatGPT, OpenAI’s chatbot. A screenshot taken by Google shows some of the possible uses of Bard, such as asking which is easier, learning piano or guitar.
In Pichai’s words, “Bard can function as an outlet for creativity and also as a platform to stimulate curiosity.” The CEO also points out that Bard “draws on information from the web to provide up-to-date, quality answers.” This would be a huge advantage over ChatGPT, which has no Internet connection and uses data from 2022.
Google and the artificial intelligence race
Bard’s hasty announcement and the little information we have about it are a clear consequence of the “code red” issued by Google weeks ago. Although the technology that makes ChatGPT work is not revolutionary, OpenAI’s decision to open the model to the public has been a complete bombshell: millions of people have been able to see for themselves the possibilities that artificial intelligence can bring them.
Such has been its impact that it has opened a debate on the implications of AIs on education, employment and the future of Internet search (a topic that Google is particularly interested in). On the other hand, Microsoft has invested billions of dollars in OpenAI and one of its first plans is to integrate ChatGPT into its Bing search engine.
