Google took a major step into the world of artificial intelligence (AI) on Wednesday by announcing the expansion of its generative AI chatbot, Bard, to 180 English-speaking countries. The innovative technology, which generates content in everyday language on demand, will also be integrated into many other platforms, including search engines.
“We’ve been moving from a technology company to an AI company for seven years, and we’re at a pivotal moment,” said Google CEO Sundar Pichai at a live event in Mountain View, California. “We have radically improved our products through generative AI, taking a bold and responsible approach.”
The arrival of ChatGPT, an interface designed by Californian startup OpenAI, triggered a veritable generative AI race, between unbridled excitement and alarmist concerns. Google retaliated with Bard, its own interface, which was released to the public at the end of March.
On Wednesday, Google announced that Bard, its conversational chatbot, is now available in English in 180 countries. The chatbot will soon be able to interact in 40 languages and integrate images into users’ queries and responses, offering a multimedia experience.
The global online advertising giant also presented how online search will evolve with the integration of Bard. AI-generated answers to specific questions will be highlighted, offering users the chance to interact with the interface to obtain more detailed information.
The new version of Google, with these improvements, should be launched in the coming weeks. A waiting list has been opened for those wishing to access the new interface as soon as it is available.
In addition to these advances, Google is working on extensions to Bard that will enable users to interact with the chatbot directly from various applications, such as Maps, Gmail or Docs. Google Cloud customers are not to be outdone, with new tools for companies wishing to develop their own solutions based on generative AI.
In response to these developments, Microsoft has made similar announcements, having already integrated ChatGPT into its Bing search engine and fully opened it up to the public last week.
Google’s improvements to its language model, PaLM 2, were unveiled on Wednesday. These algorithms, trained on vast volumes of data, enable the creation of conversational chatbots such as ChatGPT or Bard. “We’ve seen a lot of improvements in Bard over the last couple of months, particularly in terms of mathematics, logic, reasoning ability and coding,” said Jack Krawczyk, product director at Google.
Krawczyk emphasized the excitement of this period of rapid development in AI, declaring, “We live in an exciting time when the gap between human imagination and the capabilities of technology is rapidly closing.”
Yet these technological advances have also raised concerns. OpenAI’s March launch of GPT-4, a “large multimedia model (…) as capable as humans in many professional and academic contexts”, has raised concerns in various sectors. Sam Altman, OpenAI’s CEO, explained that his company is working towards a so-called “general-purpose AI”, which could match human cognitive capabilities.
These developments have sparked fears among many experts, ranging from misinformation to the threat of work automation, and have even led some to call for a six-month moratorium on AI research.
Geoffrey Hinton, considered one of the fathers of AI, expressed his concerns at a panel organized by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) on May 3. He declared that the threat to humanity posed by AI is “serious and imminent”. Hinton recently left Google, where he worked for a decade, so he could speak freely about the potential dangers of AI.
As Google and other tech giants continue to innovate and push the boundaries of what AI can achieve, it’s essential to keep these concerns in mind. The race towards generative AI has profound implications, both promising and potentially worrying, and it’s crucial to navigate these waters with caution and responsibility.
In conclusion, Google’s announcement of the global rollout of Bard marks a significant milestone in the world of AI. The ability of this chatbot to generate content in everyday language and interact meaningfully with users promises a transformation in the way we interact with technology. However, as with any major technological breakthrough, it’s crucial to balance innovation with careful ethical reflection.
