Bard, an artificial intelligence chatbot technology that Google will begin deploying in the coming weeks, was announced on Monday. CNBC’s earlier reporting is confirmed by the announcement. Bard will face off against rival AI service ChatGPT, which was developed by OpenAI.
The company’s extensive language model, LaMDA, or Language Model for Dialogue Applications, powers Bard. In a blog post published on Monday, Google stated that before making the technology more widely available to the general public, it would first make it available to “trusted testers.”
Report stated last week that Google is testing some of these features with employees as part of a “code red” response to ChatGPT, a popular chatbot supported by Microsoft in part. A chatbot called “Apprentice Bard” and new search desktop designs that could be used in a question-and-answer format were among the features.
“Soon, you’ll see AI-powered features in Search that distill complex information and multiple perspectives into easy-to-digest formats, so you can quickly understand the big picture and learn more from the web: whether that’s seeking out additional perspectives, like blogs from people who play both piano and guitar, or going deeper on a related topic, like steps to get started as a beginner,” wrote CEO Sundar Pichai.
The company gave an illustration of how Bard can be used to simplify difficult subjects, such as explaining recent discoveries from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope to a 9-year-old.
Following a recent all-hands meeting, employees expressed concerns regarding the company’s AI competitive advantage in light of ChatGPT’s sudden popularity.
Report stated that Jeff Dean, Google’s AI chief at the time, told employees that the company is moving “more conservatively than a small startup” because providing incorrect information poses a much greater “reputational risk.” However, at the time, he and Pichai hinted that Google might offer products of a similar nature to the general public sometime this year.
Web search is Google’s main business, and the company has long touted itself as an AI pioneer. In recent weeks, leaders have been asking more employees for feedback on the efforts.
“We’ll combine external feedback with our own internal testing to make sure Bard’s responses meet a high bar for quality, safety and groundedness in real-world information,” the company stated on Monday.