Google extends AI dominance with Bard: a game-changing rival to Microsoft’s ChatGPT

Google said on Wednesday it is opening Microsoft-backed ChatGPT rival Bard to 180 countries, as it expands the use of artificial intelligence on its platform.

Generative AI will also be used to supercharge the tech giant’s pioneering search engine, executives said at an annual Google developers conference in Silicon Valley.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai said, “We’ve been implementing AI for some time, with Generative AI we’re taking the next step.”

“We’re re-imagining all of our core products, including search,” he said.

Google is racing to catch up to rival Microsoft, which has rushed to integrate ChatGPT-like powers into a wide range of its products, including the Bing search engine.

Microsoft’s dash into AI came despite fears of the technology’s potential danger to society, including its impact on the spread of disinformation and whether it could make entire categories of jobs obsolete.

Cathy Edwards of Google Search said the new experience would be similar to a “supercharged” search by a conversational bot.

Other Google executives explained how generative AI is being woven into Gmail, photo editing, online work tools and more.

The company’s AI efforts will be undertaken in a “bold and responsible” way, senior product director Jack Krawski said during a briefing.

Google’s expansion means it removed a waiting list for Bard, allowing users around the world to connect with it in English after months of testing in the US and UK.

According to Krawczyk, Bard will be modified to support 40 languages ​​in the coming months.

“We’re excited to get Bard into the hands of more people,” Krawczyk said.

“We’re very excited about where Bard is going.”

Google also announced browser “extensions” that will imbue apps and services like Gmail and Maps with AI features.

The Bard technology will enable features such as text fill-in to help draft emails by examining a photo of available supplies and suggest ideas for artwork.

Google is letting partners create extensions, including one from Adobe, that will let users create images, Krawczyk said.

The tech titan also unveiled new Pixel devices, including a $1,799 foldable smartphone that when opened reveals a foldable screen the size of a tablet computer.

“You’re getting the best of both worlds,” Rick Osterloh, Google’s senior vice president of devices, said of the Fold.

“It’s a powerful smartphone when it’s convenient and an immersive tablet when you need it.”

Google also added a new tablet to the Pixel lineup and a lower-cost version of its flagship smartphone.

Risky technology? ,

Google’s announcements come a week after rival Microsoft expanded public access to its generative artificial intelligence programs, which are powered by models created by OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT.

The AI-enhanced features of the company’s Bing search engine and Edge internet browser have become open to anyone.

The services have been enhanced with the ability to work with images as well as text, and Microsoft intends to add video to the mix.

Despite the rollout by two of the world’s biggest companies, AI’s risks include the potential use of voice clones, deep-fake videos and misinformation with convincing written messages.

In March a series of experts urged the development of powerful AI systems to be halted to ensure they are secure.

His open letter, signed by more than 1,000 people including billionaire Elon Musk and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, was inspired by Microsoft-backed firm OpenAI’s generative AI technology.

A prominent computer scientist often referred to as the “godfather of artificial intelligence” recently quit his job at Google to speak out about the dangers of the technology.

Geoffrey Hinton, who created some of the technology underlying the AI ​​system, said the existential threat from AI is “serious and imminent”.

(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)