Chatbots

‍Chatbots began as software tools recognizing user commands and returning a pre-programmed response. Though these bots were limited as they only recognized specific commands, they have evolved into something more significant. Using Artificial Intelligence software, chatbots are not limited to pre-programmed responses but can respond based on a library of existing data or by using the internet to source their information. The possibilities for software that can accomplish this task are vast. 

OpenAI’s ChatGPT is among the fastest-growing internet applications of all time. Built upon OpenAI’s library of language models, this chatbot can reply to a wide range of user inputs. Capabilities include conversation, content and media development, answering questions, and writing or debugging computer code. 

After the release and initial success of ChatGPT, major tech companies have committed to developing similar Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications. In May 2022, at the Google I/O conference, Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai announced their ChatGPT competitor, which is known as Google Bard. 

Google Bard

‍Google Bard is a chat-based AI conversational program very similar to ChatGPT. A significant difference between the structure of the two is that Google’s program will pull all information from the internet. To do this with ChatGPT, users must pay a monthly fee to become a premium member.  

Transformer is Google’s neural network architecture and was created and open-sourced in 2018. Transformer was used to build GPT-3 for OpenAI. The backbone of Google Bard, known as LaMDA, was also designed with Transformer 2 years ago. LaMDA is short for “Language Model for Dialogue Applications” and will use the web to provide high-quality responses to users of Google Bard. 

A user can ask a question or request by typing into Google Bard. Then a response will be generated using LaMDA and the internet. Users can ask questions, request creative content generation, summarize text, and perform many other tasks. In a recent demonstration, Google asked the program to “explain discoveries from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope to a 9-year-old”. 

The advantage of Bard over existing AI chatbots is its multi-modal capabilities. Bard will use the internet to gather information on the response, as well as have the ability to synthesize information from multiple sources. Bard is more than a language model. Integrating language, sounds, images, and machine learning produces superior responses.  

To accomplish rendering response through means other than language, Google has new AI technologies. Imagen is a program that can use input prompted by the user; and generate an original image of the command using AI, similar to OpenAI’s DALL-E. Another example of advanced responses could come from Google’s MusicLM. This AI program can accept a prompt describing a piece of music and generate an original tune. 

Google was among the first tech companies to publish a set of AI Principles. These are intended to be followed to ensure that AI technology developers and researchers use best practices and standards. These methods aim to make current and upcoming AI applications safe and valuable. 

Users traditionally use internet searches to find factual answers or resources to find those answers quickly. Though recently, people are commonly searching for insights and understanding of complex topics with diverse ranges of opinions on the subjects. AI can be helpful for these inquiries by distilling complex answers to requests and organizing the results so that the user can see all possible perspectives and learn the big-picture concept. Google Bard can do this, and Google Search will begin to include this AI approach.  

Release

‍Google Bard was made available to a limited number of users starting in October 2022. These users tested the functionality and accuracy of responses to prompts. This process ensured that responses meet a “high bar for quality, safety and be grounded in real-world information.” Bard was released to the public in early 2023. 

As AI programs develop and gain popularity, one can expect the industry for creating applications in AI to grow. With machine learning models working in conjunction with AI platforms, there is seemingly no limit to the potential for platforms like Bard. Combining AI chatbots with search engines like Google can lead to a complete revolution in how humans interact, learn, and stay informed using the internet. 

The Dura Digital Takeaway

‍We are very excited at the possibilities for how businesses will leverage AI for digital transformation. Tools integrated with AI are excellent for content creation, research, automation, and increased productivity. Contact our team at Dura Digital today to start exploring how your business can also embrace AI to achieve your goals.