Published , by Sam Chandler
Published , by Sam Chandler
Google has confirmed the existence of Bard, its ChatGPT competitor, and now it looks like the whole company will be stress-testing the service. A company-wide email from Google CEO Sundar Pichai has called all hands to begin using Bard prior to its launch.
In an internal memo reported on by CNBC on Monday, February 6, 2023, Google CEO Sundar Pichai has enlisted all employees to begin testing Bard, the company’s ChatGPT competitor. The email likens the effort to an internal hackathon, with employees putting the artificial intelligence chat program through its paces.
The email goes on to note that Google will be investigating an API for its LaMDA technology. This API will allow developers to access the tech and build their own products using Google’s Language Model for Dialogue Applications. This process will start next month, with Google bringing in external developers to try “generative language APIs” with “a range of models to follow.” The end goal is for Google to provide tools that cultivate the creation of programs using the AI.
After reports that Google had started work on a ChatGPT competitor called Apprentice Bard, Pichai penned a message discussing the company’s next steps in AI. In this post, Pichai confirms the name of the AI is Bard, references Moore’s Law, and gives an insight into how Search might be updated.
To start with, Bard will release with Google’s lightweight model version of LaMDA, which requires “significantly less computing power.” This will allow Google to bring the product to more people and in turn provide more avenues of feedback on top of internal testing. The goal is to ensure Bard meets the “high bar for quality, safety and groundedness in real-world information.”
Pichai states that AI-powered features will start appearing in Search. Responses will help “distill complex information”, information that isn’t as straightforward as one correct answer but requires more nuance.
All of this appears to be in a response to OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which has garnered a lot of attention since its release. Microsoft has since made a multi-billion dollar investment in the company with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella recognizing the importance of AI and our current position in its creation.
With Google now forging ahead with its own AI chat program, competition in the AI sector looks to be accelerating. Be sure to keep it locked to Shacknews as we bring you the latest on artificial intelligence.