Google Expands Use of Artificial Intelligence with Launch of AI-Powered ChatGPT Rival, Bard, to 180 Countries
Key Highlights :
On Wednesday, Google announced the launch of its AI-powered chatbot rival, Bard, to 180 countries as it expands its use of artificial intelligence (AI) across its platform. Executives at the annual Google developers conference in Silicon Valley said that generative AI will also be used to supercharge the tech giant’s leading search engine.
The move is seen as Google’s attempt to catch up with rival Microsoft, which has already integrated ChatGPT-like powers into a wide array of its products, including the Bing search engine.
Cathy Edwards of Google Search said the new experience would be akin to a search that is “supercharged” by a conversational bot. Other Google executives laid out how generative AI is being woven into Gmail, photo editing, online work tools and more. The company’s AI efforts would be carried out in a “bold and responsible” way, senior product director Jack Krawczyk said during a briefing.
Google’s expansion meant it removed a waitlist for Bard, letting users around the world engage with it in English after months of testing it out in the US and Britain. Bard will be modified to support 40 languages in coming months, according to Krawczyk.
Google also announced browser “extensions” that will imbue apps and services such as Gmail and Maps with AI features. Bard technology will enable features such as filling in text to help draft emails and suggesting ideas for artwork by scrutinizing a picture of available supplies. Google is also letting partners build such extensions, including one from Adobe that will let users generate images, Krawczyk said.
The tech titan also unveiled new Pixel devices including a $1,799 foldable smartphone with a bendable screen that is the size of a tablet computer when opened.
Google’s announcements come a week after rival Microsoft expanded public access to its generative artificial intelligence programs, which are powered by models made by OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT. Microsoft’s early investment in OpenAI gave it a head start “in this Game of Thrones Battle for Big Tech with Google now playing major catchup mode,” Wedbush analyst Dan Ives said in a note to investors.
Despite the rollouts by two of the world’s biggest companies, risks from AI include its potential uses for disinformation, with voice clones, deep-fake videos and convincing written messages. A range of experts in March urged a pause in the development of powerful AI systems to allow time to make sure they are safe.
Geoffrey Hinton, who created some of the technology underlying AI systems, maintained that the existential threat from AI is “serious and close.”
Google’s launch of Bard and its expansion of AI-powered features across its platform is a testament to the tech giant’s commitment to staying ahead of the competition. With the potential risks of AI, however, it is important that Google and other tech companies take a responsible approach to the development and implementation of AI-based technologies.
