- Google has just invited testers to use its artificial intelligence Bard
- But this invite is only valid if you live in the US or UK
- Interested persons, if they live in one of these countries, must also register on a waiting list
While OpenAI has just launched GPT-4, the new version of its generative AI, we are impatiently waiting for Google to finally launch its Bard chatbot. And this week, it is finally available for a few Internet users. Indeed, Google has just published a blog post inviting Internet users to test Bard. But unfortunately, it is not yet a real launch. To be able to use this future novelty of the search engine, it will be necessary to register on a waiting list and for the moment, availability is very (very limited).
Bard’s chat interface. ©Google
1 – Bard only arrives in 2 countries
At this time, the invitation published by Google is only valid for Internet users residing in the United States and the United Kingdom. If you live in one of these countries, you can join the waiting list at bard.google.com. Google then notifies you when it’s your turn.
The firm indicates that it will extend the availability of its chatbot to other countries and other languages. But no date has been given. We can always hope that Google will make its chatbot more accessible during the Google I/O event in May, during which it will be full of new features for its ecosystem.
2 – An imperfect version, Google assumes
Like ChatGPT and other generative AIs, Bard is flawed. And as it stands, this one can produce errors. In its announcement, Google also warns users.
“Although LLMs are an exciting technology, they are not without flaws. For example, because they learn from a wide range of information that reflects real-world biases and stereotypes, these sometimes show up in their results. And they can provide inaccurate, misleading or false information while presenting it with confidence”can we read in the publication of the Mountain View firm.
Warning displayed by Google for Bard users. ©Google
3 – What will Bard be used for?
AIs like Bard or ChatGPT have unlimited potential uses. In its blog post, Google gives some examples of situations for which its chatbot can be useful. “You could ask Bard for tips on how to reach your goal of reading more books this year, explaining quantum physics in layman’s terms, or sparking your creativity by outlining a blog post”reads the Google post.
And that’s just the beginning. Indeed, Google is already talking about the other capabilities it plans to add to Bard. For example, a future release should be able to generate code, support more languages, and provide multimodal experiences. By becoming multimodal, Bard will support other formats in addition to text (eg images).
4 – What links with Google Assistant?
Of course, if you use Google products, you can already imagine how Bard could later integrate Google Assistant on smartphones and connected speakers. But for the moment, the firm does not seem in a hurry. Quoted by our colleagues from 9to5Google, the Mountain View firm underlined the fact that Bard is an “experimental” service and distinct from Google Assistant.
But still according to 9to5Google, the firm sees “the intersection and synergies between the two efforts”. In any case, Google seems very (very cautious) and indicates in its announcement that it uses feedback from testers in order to develop Bard in a responsible way.
