Google opened early access to its AI-powered chatbot Bard today to limited users. The bot was launched as an answer to Microsoft’s collaboration with ChatGPT. Although the software got off to a rocky start, especially during the demo, the official launch still has eyes on it from all users all over the world.
Google is yet to reveal an official launch completion date when the software will be available to the masses.
Currently, the software is expected to launch only in the UK and the US and will be available to only two select users. The remaining users interested in testing Bard will be allowed to sign up for the waitlist through https://bard.google.com/. The rollout is expected to be slow and calculated.
Bard has already gone through multiple rounds of strict testing. But according to the project leads Sissie Hsiao and Eli Collins, the best next step for the product is to get user feedback and see how capable it is of meeting the target audience’s expectations.
Bard‘s interface is quite similar to ChatGPT and Microsoft’s new chatbot. Instead of a thin search bar, the user gets a big rectangular box where they can type in their queries. The questions can be open-ended, and the user can expect a personalized answer.
If you’re looking for factual details, Bard might not be the best tool to use.
However, past events have proved time and again that these bots are prone to creating false information and going rogue when asked too many questions at once. That’s why Google stresses that this tool is not a replacement for their original search engine.
In fact, Google recommends that this bot should only be used to write drafts for emails and pitches, talk about your life or simply bounce off ideas.
Bard’s Demo
In a recent demo to The Verge, the bot was able to offer some great advice on how to encourage a child to take up bowling and a list of popular heist movies.
During the demo, it was seen that Bard provided three answers for each query. If you’re unsure about the authenticity of the results, a quick Google redirect will surely help you.
While the variation in those three answers is minimal, on the plus side, you’ll find a “Google It” button under each.
During this demo, it was seen that Bard is incapable of catering to factual questions. Despite being connected to Google, it was only able to partially answer who gave the White House press briefing on that day. Also, when asked about the load capacity of the washing machine, Bard invented three incorrect answers.
This is a good example — clearly, the model is hallucinating the load capacity.Eli Collins, VP Research
He explains that the reason behind such behavior is that many numbers are associated with such queries. For example, when you look up details on a washing machine, there will be a set of numbers talking about its size, weight, launch year, warranty period, etc. When there are these many numbers, Bard forgets the context of the query and pulls out random numbers from the original pages.
The bot is still in its early stages, and as claimed in the blog post, Google will continue to add more features and capabilities to it as time goes on.
