Google is following in the footsteps of OpenAI’s ChatGPT with its announcement of the launch of its own AI chatbot as well as other upcoming AI technology for its search engine as part of a new wave of computing. 

Following the success of the Microsoft-backed ChatGPT, the tech giant will be releasing its AI named “Bard” to the public in the coming weeks. The AI will be integrated into the company’s search engine to provide written answers and links to relevant webpages, images and videos to search queries in split seconds.  

Check out: Chief scientist warns government on ChatGPT 

Google’s CEO Sundar Pichai said the new innovation would allow Google to answer questions in a more intelligent way that went beyond just providing basic factual information. 

“Bard seeks to combine the breadth of the world’s knowledge with the power, intelligence and creativity of our large language models,” he said. 

“It draws on information from the web to provide fresh, high-quality responses.”  

Pichai insisted the bot would be both “bold and responsible”, but did not specify how the company would prevent it producing harmful or abusive content. 

“One of the most exciting opportunities is how AI can deepen our understanding of information and turn it into useful knowledge more efficiently – making it easier for people to get to the heart of what they’re looking for and get things done,” he said. 

Bard will be using the company’s existing Lamda software, which was described last year by former Google engineer Blake Lemoine as “sentient” and the intellectual equivalent of a human child. 

Check out: Aust Gov invests $44M to build four AI and digital capability centres 

Microsoft has invested billions of dollars in OpenAI, the parent company of ChatGPT, and speculation of an incoming integration with Bing has been widespread as some users reported seeing a new chatbot-style section of the search engine last week. 

Microsoft, founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen in 1975, announced a press conference for late on Tuesday just minutes after Google revealed Bard. It is being held the day before Google’s own launch event for its AI chatbot. 

With AAP 

Eliza Sayon

Website | + posts

Eliza is a content producer and editor at Public Spectrum. She is an experienced writer on topics related to the government and to the public, as well as stories that uplift and improve the community.

• Developing an effective data ecosystem
• The journey of building an ecosystem through data
• NZ government strengthens data privacy laws against third parties
• eSafety Commissioner issues legal notice against Twitter