Google has launched Bard, its large language model (LLM) and competitor to Microsoft’s ChatGPT-powered AI tools within Bing and, soon, across Microsoft 365 apps.
Google is starting to open up access to Bard, which it says will “boost your productivity, accelerate your ideas and fuel your curiosity”. You can sign up for the waitlist at bard.google.com.
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The modified, conversational Search interface, which will be available to some users in the UK and US from today, will enable users to brainstorm with Bard for tips on reading more books, receive help outlining blog posts, learn more about quantum physics, or plan a camping trip.
While Microsoft has gone full bore with the rollout of Bing AI and its other ChatGPT-powered services, Google is cautious and claims its emphasis is on providing quality information.
Indeed, Google’s blog post is actually quite bearish about the potential uses for the tech at this stage, stating the LLMs can reinforce real world biases and stereotypes, and can present misleading information confidently.
The company says that although large language models like Bard won’t always get everything right, it is relying on experts in a range of fields to provide feedback. The limited roll out today is part of that feedback process.
“Although it’s important to be aware of challenges like these, there are still incredible benefits to LLMs, like jumpstarting human productivity, creativity and curiosity. And so, when using Bard, you’ll often get the choice of a few different drafts of its response so you can pick the best starting point for you. You can continue to collaborate with Bard from there, asking follow-up questions. And if you want to see an alternative, you can always have Bard try again,” the blog post says.
Google calls the tool complementary to Google Search. It’s designed so you can check the information within a conventional search to explore the sources on the web. It promises there’ll be deeper integration within search in the coming months.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
