- Kyle Chua
Google Announces Bard, a ChatGPT-Like “Experimental Conversational AI Service”
Google is taking on OpenAI's viral ChatGPT with its long-rumoured chatbot.
Called Bard, the "experimental conversational AI service", as Google CEO Sundar Pichai describes in a blog, leverages the tech behemoth's Language Model for Dialogue Applications (LaMDA) to deliver human-like responses to queries and prompts. It's said to pull information from the web to make it easy for practically anyone to receive and understand the information they need.
"Bard can be an outlet for creativity, and a launchpad for curiosity, helping you to explain new discoveries from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope to a 9-year-old, or learn more about the best strikers in football right now, and then get drills to build your skills," said Mr Pichai.
Unlike ChatGPT, however, Google's not opening the service to the public just yet. The company is starting with a lightweight model version of LaMDA, which requires significantly less computing power, and from there, it'll scale the service to more users as it receives feedback. That feedback shall supposedly be combined with data from internal testing to ensure Bard’s responses adhere to "a high bar for quality, safety and groundedness in real-world information".
Google is also enhancing Search with AI-powered features, giving it the ability to "distill complex information and multiple perspectives into easy-to-digest formats". That way, it's quicker to get additional perspectives or go deeper into a specific topic. These features are expected to launch on Search "soon".
Meanwhile, Google plans to onboard a select number of developers, creators and enterprises starting next month, so they can try its Generative Language API, initially powered by LaMDA. Over time, the company will create a suite of tools and APIs, which is expected to make it easier for future developers to build with AI.
Amid the surging popularity of advanced language models like ChatGPT, Singapore's Ministry of Education (MOE) wants to guide teachers in schools to use these technologies to improve learning, as The Straits Times reports. Education Minister Chan Chun Sing said they can be useful tools for learning once students have mastered basic concepts, likening it to a calculator in the subject of mathematics.
There's a debate among educational institutions and experts across the globe about whether AI tools are productive for learning. On one hand, they can supposedly help students to learn and to think creatively. Conversely, they can be prone to abuse, assisting students to cheat and plagiarise.
For this reason, Mr Chan wants to equip students with the skills to use these tools properly and responsibly. They'll be taught to understand how the tools work and must know how to critically assess the generated responses.
As for measures that'll help combat plagiarism, Mr Chan said that assessments, such as exams, presentations and projects, should require analysis, field notes and observational details – information an AI won't be able to generate. He added that there are strategies and tools that can also be used to spot AI-generated content.
Google has debuted Bard, an "experimental conversational AI service" that leverages the tech behemoth's Language Model for Dialogue Applications (LaMDA) to deliver human-like responses to queries and prompts, similar to ChatGPT.
The company is starting with a lightweight model version of LaMDA, which requires significantly less computing power, and from there, it'll scale the service to more users as it receives feedback.
Google is also enhancing Search with AI-powered features, giving it the ability to "distill complex information and multiple perspectives into easy-to-digest formats"
Amid the surging popularity of advanced language models like ChatGPT, Singapore's Ministry of Education (MOE) wants to guide teachers in schools to use these technologies to improve learning.